Destiny's Call
by Epicfangirl10
Summary: The war may be over, but the destruction Jacen Solo left in his wake has far from dissipated, especially for Ben Skywalker. However, a new malicious power is on the rise and threatens to destroy the hope Ben has found and the safety of the galaxy his father has sworn to protect. But even through the darkness, destiny calls.
1. Prologue

**Author's Note: The real story will begin shortly, but for those who may not have read much Star Wars Expanded Universe material, or haven't read the Legacy of the Force series, this prologue will fill you in on some key details that Destiny's Call rests upon.**

Prologue

_A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…_

Return of the Jedi may have ended, but the story continues…

Captain Han Solo and Princess Leia were married and had three children: twins named Jacen and Jaina, and a son, named Anakin after his grandfather.

Luke Skywalker established a new Order of Jedi Knights to protect the post-Empire government. He too married, a woman named Mara Jade. They had one son: Ben Skywalker.

But darkness soon fell over the Solo-Skywalker clan. A species of invaders called the Yuuzhan Vong waged war against the New Republic, and The Solo's youngest son Anakin died heroically in one of the conflicts. But a heartbroken family could not have imagined that the experiences Jacen Solo endured during the war would lead him down a path of evil.

The Solo's only remaining son Jacen turned to the dark side, destroying all those who got in the way of his struggle to attain power. Believing he was the fulfillment of a Sith prophecy written on ancient tassels, Jacen fell away from the teachings of the Jedi. He abandoned his former self, the jokester with a special connection to animals, and adopted the name Caedus. Though he truly believed he would bring peace to the galaxy, he was in truth ripping it apart, along with the hearts of those who loved him most.

His soul seeped in deception, Jacen believed that he must sacrifice someone he cared about before making the final step in becoming a Sith Lord. After a long duel, Jacen murdered Mara Jade Skywalker, his own aunt. Though he covered his tracks well, this treachery was eventually discovered; the fact that Jacen had done such a thing brought anger into the heart of a teenage Ben Skywalker, as Jacen had been his role model for many years. A desire for revenge brought Ben close to the dark side, but he was able to resist following in his cousin's footsteps.

The Jedi, realizing that Jacen had to be stopped, began to hunt down the Dark Lord. Jaina Solo, Jacen's twin sister, met him in battle with all intent to put an end to the man he had become. But through the corruption, Jacen's heart hadn't completely hardened and he let down his guard for long enough to warn his lover through the Force of an impending attack on her life. For just long enough to allow Jaina to deliver the killing blow.

Though the threat had been eliminated, the ramifications were far from over. The pain of loss still hung like a dark cloud over the Solo and Skywalker family, especially Ben Skywalker.

But through the darkness, destiny's call can still be heard…


	2. Chapter 1: Visions of Darkness

**A/N: Here's chapter one! I shall try to update weekly...and if I fail to do so I'll try not to leave you with too much of a cliffhanger. However, I have been known to do evil things like that. And I do not own Ben Skywalker. If I did, my name would be Mrs. Skywalker by now.**

Chapter One: Visions of Darkness

"No…NO! Don't, please!"

He was watching, helpless. Blood ran down his mother's face, and her body was marred with cuts and bruises. A hypo was injected, and a look of surprise and horror crossed her face. She knew it was the end, and the last words on her lips were of him, her only son.

Ben sat up in bed, sweat running down his face. He closed his eyes and attempted some breathing exercises to calm his distraught mind. How many weeks had it been? It seemed like the nightmares would never stop.

They weren't every night, but that was almost the worst part. They came just when Ben thought they'd left.

Ben's eyes fell on the holopic that sat by his bed. Mara Jade smiled back at him, but the smile tore through his heart. He wanted, needed, to see her again, even if it was just her Force ghost. To tell her he loved her one more time. To hear her say it back, watch her lips mouth the words he longed to hear.

But she was gone, and at the hand of his own cousin. Cousin turned Sith Lord.

For the millionth time, Ben wondered why…why did he turn? Could Ben have stopped it somehow? Could he have saved his mother?

That last question was pondered the most, because he probably could have. The ache became physical, seeping through every inch of his body. Mara had died trying to protect him, save him from the darkness. If only he'd been strong enough to not need saving…

Ben almost hated himself. His former self, that is. He'd been so gullible, taking everything his cousin had said as truth, even though the truth had been twisted and injected with Sith teachings. It had taken the death of his mother to shake him from the grip of…

Jacen.

Jacen Solo.

His cousin, his mentor, his friend.

Now, those memories were overshadowed by those involving Darth Caedus, his torturer, his enemy, the murderer of his mother.

Ben felt anger welling up inside him like a volcano, the lava of his heart threatening to consume him. How could someone he trusted and loved done something so heinous? Hurt his family so deeply?

No. This wasn't the way; anger would only prolong the misery. The fury had no place in a Jedi's soul, and even if it did, it no longer served a purpose. Jacen was dead. Mara was dead. The galaxy was healing, moving on…so why couldn't he?

Ben stood and stretched; it was still early morning, but he doubted that he would fall back to sleep. He didn't want to anyway. The nightmares, the flashbacks would only return.

He scanned his quarters; they were small, but a Jedi didn't own many possessions. In a dresser lay a few changes of clothes; his lightsaber stood easily accessible on the table by his bed, right beside the holo of Mara. But Ben liked things that way. His life had been complicated for as long as he could remember, and it was comforting to at least have this one area of simplicity.

Ben returned to the bed and sat, assuming a meditating position. There were still a couple more hours before dawn, and it wouldn't do to start the day in a state of emotional turmoil.

Ben Skywalker stared outside the window of the Jedi Temple. The skylanes of Coruscant went on as far as the eye could see, beings of every shape and size going about their business, protected by the inhabitants of the Temple that loomed above them.

He turned when a whirring noise met his ears; the training droid hovered several meters above the ground.

"Are you ready to begin?" the metallic voice questioned.

"Yes, start with level three difficulty."

"Yes sir," the droid responded, beginning to count down. Ben ignited his blue lightsaber, adopting a ready stance. His muscles tightened as he anticipated the first attack. Ben closed his eyes and opened himself up to the Force. His eyes snapped open just as the first bolt came hurling towards him. Ben smoothly rotated his blade to the right, deflecting the bolt harmlessly to the side.

That had been the easy part.

Ben sharpened his focus as the bolts began coming faster and faster. Soon, he was immersed in an intricate dance, the Force flowing through his very being, his lightsaber simply an extension of his arm. This pattern was fairly predictable, and allowed Ben to think. Which wasn't exactly a good thing these days.

"_I love you, and you're in my heart, every fiber of it. Nothing matters to me more than you."_

She'd proved it with her life.

_He will strengthen himself through pain…_

Jacen's tassels.

But he wasn't going to go there, not now. When his reflexes had been properly warmed up, Ben spoke to the droid again. "Proceed to level four."

The speed intensified, the bolts flying at him in more random patterns so that Ben had to move his lightsaber more drastically. Beads of sweat began to form on his forehead, and his muscles complained, but Ben didn't slow down. He wasn't going to stop now.

But his body was tiring. Though his mind still moved at the same velocity, his limbs weren't obeying at quite the same speed, and a stun bolt caught him in the side. The area stung for a while, then grew numb. Ben finally admitted, after two more hit him, that the workout session was done for today.

After one last round of fire, Ben deactivated the droid, and clipped his lightsaber back onto the belt around his hip. He was just about to leave the training room when Grand Master Luke Skywalker walked in, his long brown Jedi robes trailing behind him.

"Hey Dad, I thought you were in a Council meeting."

"We finished early…imagine that. Not a whole lot going on right now, especially compared to the last few months. Just a lot of picking up after…" Luke trailed off, and they both knew how the sentence ended. But no one wanted to say his name, even think of him right now. Everything was still so raw.

"Yeah, there's still a lot left to do." Ben wasn't sure if he was referring to the physical labor still to be done, or the repairs he still had to make on his heart. Probably both.

"You want to go have a bite to eat?" Luke asked. "I don't have another meeting for an hour."

"Sure," Ben replied. "As long as you don't make me try that disgusting spice loaf again."

"Well, you have to admit, it's better than Leia's."

"I don't have to admit anything." Ben looked up and down the hallway, making sure his aunt wasn't lurking somewhere in the corner, then turned back to his father. "Alright, yeah it's better than hers."

The two men shared a laugh and continued walking to the Temple kitchens. Dozens of apprentices, knights, and masters were passing by or sitting at the tables, conversing with friends. Seha Dorvald was sitting with her friend Stephan, and Ben gave them both a friendly nod.

After getting their food, Luke and Ben sat down at a table on the balcony. Although the kitchens weren't located on one of the spires, it was still elevated enough to get quite a bit of wind. The breeze tousled Ben's red hair, and cooled his body from the workout.

Ben found himself staring down into Coruscant's skylanes again. Trillions of beings, but the Jedi could only help so many. Vehicles took off from various landing pads, joining the crisscrossing traffic. So many lives, so many stories. Metal glinted in the sun; Coruscant was a gorgeous planet, so teeming with energy. Ben could feel all that energy, all the life, through the Force. It was overwhelming and beautiful at the same time.

"So how's training going?" Luke asked. Not only was Ben his son, but also his apprentice.

"Good, I beat my record today." Ben replied.

Luke nodded approvingly. He was so proud of Ben, and not just because his skills with a lightsaber were drastically improving. Ben had grown up so much in the past year, and even though Luke would have preferred that the events which matured him hadn't occurred, it still made him smile to think of what a great Jedi his son would one day become. What a great Jedi he already was. Ben had a good head on his shoulders, and a soft heart in his chest; the combination was hard to find in the galaxy today.

"Dad?'

"I'm sorry, I was just thinking."

"That's alright, I was just wondering if we're going on a mission sometime soon…"

"I don't know Ben. I'm needed here right now to coordinate operations. I want to go and do something too, but I think Coruscant is where we need to be right now."

Ben nodded, and didn't say anything further on the subject. But Luke could tell that he was disappointed. Who could blame him? Ben was 15, and he needed something to do, a purpose. Right now, however, that purpose would have to remain here at the Temple, sharpening his skills.

Ben wolfed down what remained of his nerf burger, and washed it down with the rest of his blue milk. Luke brought his own glass up in mock toast.

"Blue milk, so your Jedi children can grow up strong and healthy, to protect the galaxy!" Luke said, mocking the blue milk advertisements.

Ben rolled his eyes. "I think it takes a little more than blue milk consumption to make a good Jedi," he replied. "Like, oh, I don't know, Force awareness?"

"But what is Force awareness if you don't have blue milk?"

"Not much, I guess."

Luke drained his glass, and sighed. "Well, I have to go. I have a meeting with the delegates from Corellia."

"Have fun Dad. I know how much you love politics."

"What I don't understand is why a few civilized beings can't just sit down and discuss something without having a Jedi there to keep things from getting nasty."

"You could take it as a compliment that you make people feel safe."

"Yes, I could."

Ben laughed as they picked up their trays and headed back inside.

That night, Ben lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling. It was dark but for a few lines of light streaming through the curtains. Shadows bounced off the walls whenever a speeder passed outside. But the shadows Ben was most afraid of were the ones that would appear as soon as he closed his eyes.

Still, he couldn't just stay awake forever; even Jedi needed sleep, and Ben's lack of it was slowly catching up with him. It would only be a matter of time before Luke noticed the dark circles forming under Ben's eyes and started asking questions. Secrets were hard to hide from your Master, especially if he was your father too.

It was ironic, really. Ben had been the one to help Luke through his grief over Mara's passing, but now it seemed to be him who couldn't let it go. Was the Force trying to tell him something? Last time he'd been this haunted, it had helped him identify Jacen as her killer, but now…what purpose could there possibly be now?

_Who am I fooling?_ Ben asked himself. _This isn't some all-important Force communication. This is you holding onto the past for so long you can't let go when it really starts to hurt._

Ben forced his eyes to close, taking a deep breath. No more. He wouldn't be a slave to his emotions.

The scenes he'd experienced and imagined played over like a holodrama in his mind, but Ben squeezed his eyes tighter and did his best to ignore them. Finally, fatigue overpowered his thoughts. The last image Ben saw before drifting into slumber was of Jacen's face, twisted in anger and rage, yellow eyes looking into his soul and judging the weakness he saw there.

Ben's face was cold, and his back hurt. He opened one eye and groaned; he was lying face down on the floor. It was a wonder he hadn't woken up when he'd fallen out of bed sometime during the torturous night. This had to stop, and apparently willpower wasn't going to do it.

Maybe Luke would be able to help. Ben dreaded bringing up painful memories, but things couldn't stay like this. What he really needed was a mission, something to keep his mind occupied elsewhere and give him a purpose other than personal growth. Even if he went without his Dad; after all, there were Jedi leaving on missions every day.

Ben got dressed, slipping on a brown robe over his tighter fitting brown tunic, and splashed some water on his face from the faucet in the refresher. Then he set off to find the Grand Master.

Ben was walking down an empty corridor, his mind wandering, when he saw something that stopped him in his tracks and made his blood run cold.

He blinked, but the image didn't disappear.

Jacen.


	3. Chapter 2: The Outlander

**A/N: I promise that things will start to pick up a little now…I will try to post a new chapter every Sunday! And thanks for reading! You literally have no idea how much it means to me :) **

Chapter Two: The Outlander

Jacen.

In the Temple.

Standing only yards away, in the corner.

_Great, I'm going crazy now_, Ben thought, unable to tear his eyes away from the hallucination. Jacen didn't move, just stood there, watching, a look of curiosity laced with pain in his eyes.

Ben moved forward, closer, angry. He glared at "Jacen", hoping the mirage would take a hint and leave.

"I'm sorry," the image spoke, as though it somehow knew the pain Ben was going though.

Jacen disappeared, leaving Ben staring at a blank wall. Did figments of your imagination usually talk? Then again, maybe Jacen had been real. Real in the loosest sense of the word, that is.

Ben knew that Jacen had mastered the art of flow-walking; actually bringing his presence backwards or forwards in time. While Tahiri had only told of him bringing her back in time to see Anakin, it was possible that Ben had just witnessed one of Jacen's flow-walks into the future.

And what if he had? What did that change? If he wanted to see the dead, he wanted to see his mother, not her killer.

"I'm sorry."

Simple words. But what was he sorry for? Killing Mara? Wreaking havoc on the galaxy, the lives of his family?

"What does it matter?" Ben muttered under his breath, hoping no one was close by to overhear his conversation with himself. "But I forgive you, Jacen," he added silently. "If you can hear me, I forgive you. I'll never forget what you put me through, but I'm not holding onto my anger. Even you can't take away my peace."

There was no reply. Not that Ben expected one, but it gave him a small amount of satisfaction to know that he'd done all he could do. Forgiveness was a hard choice to make, but at this point, it seemed the only path available to him.

Ben turned his back on the corner and the memories, and resumed his journey.

He found Luke a few minutes later, meditating in the Room of a Thousand Fountains. Ben hesitated to interrupt him, but they needed to talk, and he'd been so busy lately.

"Hey Dad, do you have a minute?"

Luke turned at Ben's voice. "Sure, come and sit down." Ben joined his father on the bench that overlooked one of the larger ponds. Sparkling clear water flowed from above, the soothing sound of it hitting the bottom echoing through the large chamber.

"I haven't been sleeping much lately," Ben started, unsure of where to begin.

"I'd noticed," Luke replied.

"I've been having nightmares. About Jacen. And…mom."

Luke didn't speak for a while. He cleared his throat. "These nightmares, are they memories of what's happened in the past?"

"Just flashbacks, memories. But I see events of the past that I never actually witnessed. I watched her die, Dad."

Luke put his arm around Ben's shoulder. His son buried his face in his hands.

"What am I supposed to do? I don't want them haunting me anymore. I've forgiven Jacen, but no matter how much I think in my mind I've moved on, as soon as I close my eyes, they return."

"So do you think there is a darker power at work here? That it's more than you?"

"I don't know; all I know is that I'm going crazy just sitting here, waiting for them to return."

"And what do you propose?" Luke asked.

"A mission. I need to go somewhere, help someone. Then maybe I'll forget."

"Ben, we talked about this yesterday. I can't leave Coruscant right now, I can't very often anyway."

"But I can go on a mission with another Jedi team."

"I don't think so, Ben. It seems like the problems you're having are better fixed by meditation and rest."

"But Dad, I've been mediating for weeks, and most of the time I try to rest, they come."

"I'll tell you what, let's just give it a little more time. We'll talk next week, and then maybe they'll be a mission I can put you on. Alright?"

Ben nodded, knowing better than to argue. Luke stood up.

"I have a meeting with the Chief of State. But talk with me, Ben. If things get worse, let me know. And don't wait so long to tell me you have a problem."

"It's not that I didn't want you to know, I just didn't want to trouble you, well, due to the …nature of my problem."

"I understand, but you can always come to me. About anything."

Ben nodded, staying by the fountain after Luke left.

No mission. More meditation. Not how he had planned that conversation going at all.

Ben closed his eyes. There was so much life in the temple, and he could feel it all, coursing through the veins of the Force, woven into the fabric of existence. Where was he in all of this? Ben mentally narrowed his vision, until he found himself, a tiny dot. No more than a speck in all the realm of time and galaxies.

He realized his own unimportance, grasped it. So why did his soul seem to consider itself important enough to keep reminding him of past failures?

The Force was silent, offering no explanation. But comfort, it did offer. Ben took several deep breaths, imagining himself releasing the past with every exhale.

If only it were that easy; breathe in the good, breathe out the bad.

Ben opened his eyes. His surroundings looked the same, but seemed more beautiful when viewed through the eyes of peace. The vegetation around the waterfall was in full bloom, the colors of the buds and flowers reflecting off the water. Ben stood and walked to the edge of the pond, gazing down at his reflection. The ripples distorted his features, but Ben still saw what he wanted to see. A Jedi. Strength. Mercy. That's what he stood for, who he represented. He wouldn't let any of them down.

#

Luke was on his way to the Chief of State, Natasi Daala's office when he saw a familiar face walking down the hallway of the Senate Building.

"Han, what are you doing here?" Luke asked his brother in law.

"Hey Luke, I'm just here with Leia. She had something politiciany to do that's taking longer than expected…"

"Go figure. Those things always end on time."

"I appreciate the sarcasm Luke, but isn't that my department? I don't try and use your lightsaber."

"Well, there was that one time of Kato Namodia…"

"That doesn't count. If I hadn't used your lightsaber, we'd be dead. And where would the galaxy be without this?" Han asked, pointing to his face.

Han's mouth formed his signature roguish grin, but Luke noticed that the wrinkles on his friend's face were more pronounced than they'd been a year ago. And the dark circles under his eyes seemed to be permanent. Given what Han had been through in the past few years, he was looking good. Wonderful, having just lost his son to the dark side, knowing that his daughter had been the one to end things.

"We wouldn't be the same without you, Han." Luke replied dryly.

"So how are things going over at the Temple? Any Jedi turning evil that I should know about?"

Luke silently acknowledged Han's dark attempt at humor. "No, everything's going pretty smoothly. We're still making plans to move the Jedi Academy back here to Coruscant, but they're doing just fine in Hapes."

"Good. Ben doing alright?"

Luke paused, knowing that Han deserved more than the 'just fine' he would give to almost anyone else who inquired after his son.

"Ben's having trouble sleeping, he's been having a lot of nightmares."

Han didn't need to ask what about. They both knew.

"That's understandable, given what he's been through. He held together pretty well during the war, but now that the adrenaline rush is gone and things are settling down again, all he has to do is think about the past."

"Yeah, I suppose you're right," Luke admitted, running his hand through his brown hair. "I told him to meditate more, get some rest…"

"Mediate? Look, I don't pretend to understand all your Jedi stuff, but mediation is not what he needs right now. He needs to do something. How 'bout you let me pick him up tonight? A little uncle time. Besides, with Amelia off visiting Tenel Ka, I get bored…"

"What are you going to do to my son?"

"I'm not gonna to anything _to _him. I have something to teach him, and I can guarantee he'll never learn it at your Temple."

#

Ben had just returned from a workout when there was a knock on his door.

"Come in!" Ben called, wondering who it was.

"Hey kid, how ya doing?"

"Uncle Han, I'm good how are you?"

"Doing alright. Say, I was talking to your dad earlier today, and told him that you and I were going to hang out tonight. You up for it?"

"Sure, what did you have in mind?"

"Oh, you know, a night on the town. Maybe hit the space opera, get a nine course meal at that new classy downtown restaurant…"

Ben started at his uncle, dumbfounded. He couldn't tell if Han was having some kind of mental breakdown, or if he was just joking.

"I'm totally kidding, Ben. We're going to a bar on one of the lower levels."

Ben had kind of hoped that had been a joke too, but nevertheless, he found himself following Han into the Outlander Club. Neon lights advertised the establishment's presence, and rowdy music blasted from the band of creatures playing in the corner.

Han sauntered over to the bar and took a seat; Ben slipped onto the stool beside him. The bartender, a Bith with an unnatural amount of body fat, made his way over to Han.

"Shouldn't you be playing in the band over there?" Han asked.

"Oh, so you're one of those, eh? Bith can't do anything but play music? Kriffing stereotype…I'll have you know I don't even know how to play one instrument!"

"Alright, alright," Han consented. "Two Sonic Screwdrivers please."

The bartender eyed Ben suspiciously. "Alright, but I'll need to see some identification for that one."

"You don't need to see his identification." Han replied with a grin.

"Yes, I do."

Ben bit his lip, trying to contain his laughter. Using the Force was one thing he never thought he'd see Han try to do.

"Really, you don't." Han insisted. "He's with me, and don't I look like an upstanding member of society?"

"I'll let you in on a secret, buddy. I ain't seen an upstanding member of society for going on twenty years now; I don't even know what they look like anymore."

"You're in luck, then! They look exactly like me!"

The Bith glared at Han. Or at least seemed to; it was hard to tell with his bulbous black eyes. "Fine, have it your way. But I'm not taking any responsibility, you hear? Security comes, and you leave."

"Security actually comes here?"

"Well, not really. But with my luck, they will tonight!" He turned to mix their drinks.

As soon as his back was to them, Ben began to laugh.

"Entertaining, am I?" Han asked.

"Just a little. But are you sure this is a good idea? Dad will kill me if I come home drunk, and Leia will have your head."

"We're not going to get _drunk_, really. Well, you aren't anyway." Han added, as the Bith set their glasses in front of them.

The concoction was a light blue. Ben had barely lifted the glass when Han had downed half of his.

"Leia doesn't let you out much, does she?"

"No comment." Han answered.

Ben lifted the Sonic Screwdriver to his lips and took a small swig. He gagged when the liquid hit his taste buds. "It tastes like wood!" he exclaimed, resisting the urge to spit it across the room.

"You'll get used to it, believe me" Han assured, smiling.

Ben took another cautious sip, and realized Han was right. It didn't burn as much the second time down. Ben started when his drinking partner slammed the glass down on the bar.

Drinking partner?

_Dad's gonna kill me…_

Oh well; he hadn't thought about Jacen or Mara for the last ten minutes, so something was working.

After downing another Sonic Screwdriver, Han turned to Ben. "Come here, I have something I want to teach you."

"Haven't you taught me enough already?" Ben asked, glancing down at the half empty glass in his hand.

"Nope, not yet."

Reluctantly, Ben followed his uncle across the club to the sabacc tables. Several Kiughfid were moderating the various games being played.

"No, I'm not playing sabacc," Ben protested.

"Of course not. Sabacc is an art, you'll need to watch me for a while first before you get the hang of it."

Ben rolled his eyes, and finished the rest of the Sonic Screwdriver in one swallow. He set the empty glass on a nearby table before following Han into the throng of sabacc players, most of whom looked as though they would kill Ben for making eye contact.

_I have a bad feeling about this. _Ben thought, but he knew from his father's experience that Han rarely acknowledged anyone's bad feelings.

They sat down at a table with three other players; a Bothan, a Cerean, and a Rodian whom Han eyed suspiciously.

_Greedo must have made an impression for his whole species._

Ben watched the game begin, taking a seat a little to the side of Han's, watching him play. The game itself wasn't that hard, really. It was the randomizer that complicated things. Just as soon as you were on your way up, it would spin, giving your cards different values.

An art? Since when was blind luck a form of art?

Still, Han seemed to have luck on his side, and soon he had almost doubled the credits he'd bet.

"See, it's all in watching the faces Ben. I don't have any of your fancy Force stuff, but I can tell you what cards every player has…generally speaking. So are you joining the next round?"

"I'm sure you can," Ben replied. "But I think I'll just watch for now."

"Alright, but you're missing out."

Ben was fairly sure that if he let his uncle convince him to play the only thing he'd be missing would be his money.

Two very long hours and another Sonic Screwdriver later, Ben tapped Han on the shoulder.

"Hang on kid," Han whispered from the side of his mouth. "I'm about to make a big move."

"You haven't won anything for a long time…"

"But-"

"Look, it's going to be dawn soon. We _really_ need to go back…up there," Ben continued, pointed to the ceiling. He felt unusually giddy, so he laughed.

"Alright, I'll finish this one hand, then we'll leave." Han agreed, holding his palm up to Ben's face. "Not this hand, mind you; the sabacc hand."

If he'd had two Screwdrivers, Han had consumed six. Or seven. Or so.

Han turned back to the table, and Ben was watching, only partially interested, when a finger tapped him on the shoulder. He turned to see an attractive human female with short red hair eyeing him flirtatiously.

"I've been watching you," she began, leaving her fingers on his shoulder, drawing circles on the black cloth.

Ben just grinned. No words came to his mind. Not much of anything was coming to his mind right now.

"You wanna dance?" she asked, gesturing to the empty section of floor near the band.

"Sure," Ben replied, standing up. Not once did he think of Mara's red hair as he took off his outer robe and set it on the seat he'd previously occupied. "I'll be right back, Han." He muttered as he left.

"Hey, you're a Jedi!" the Rodian exclaimed. Ben's robes had covered the metallic handle, but now it was it plain view.

Ben chuckled, "Yeah, I suppose I am."

"I like Jedi," the redhead purred.

"Cheater!" the Bothan roared. "Who do you think you are, bringing a Jedi into a sabacc game?"

"But I wasn't even playing," Ben argued, the angry Bothan shaking him into real life just a little.

That didn't seem to matter to the sabacc players, and they started toward Han.

"Look, guys, no hard feelings, alright? I promise, all those credits I won fair and square."

"Square's gonna be what I make your face in a second!" The Cerean spat.

"Ben, I think we're gonna leave early…you go hail and air taxi and I'll meet you out front in a second."

The redhead pouted and waved sadly as Ben bolted for the door. He almost fell over on the way out, but managed to reach the street and get the attention of an air taxi.

Then, his danger sense, although weakened substantially by the alcohol, prickled in alarm. Ben reached for his lightsaber, but his reflexes were about ten times slower than normal, and before his skin came into contact with the metal, a stun bolt from behind sent him whirling into unconsciousness.

#

Han stumbled backwards, knocked off balance by the punch the drunken Rodian had thrown. Apparently verbal negotiations were off…

Han was clumsily moving towards the door, but the Bothan, the angriest of the three, was catching up. His fist collided with Han's eye, and Han left the club with a fierce headache.

"Ben? Ben, where's that taxi?"

There was no reply, at least none Han could discern through his muddled brain.

"Ben!" Han shouted. The world began to spin, and Han stumbled to the ground. His last thought before his eyes closed was of his brother-in-law.

_Luke's gonna kill me…_


	4. Chapter 3: Caliya

**A/N: Sorry to leave you in suspense for so long. This is a shorter chapter, so I might update again sooner than usual. Again, thanks for reading! **

Chapter 3: Caliya

"You what?!" Leia screamed, making Han wince. A hangover was bad enough without your nephew missing and your wife yelling her head off. Not that Leia was at fault here; in fact, she was completely justified. But even C-3PO's metallic face looked a little intimidated by Leia's anger.

"Look, sweetheart, I'm sorry. I'll find Ben, I promise, I just need to get rid of this headache."

"Headache? Ben is gone and I'm supposed to wait until your head feels better?"

Han held the ice pack up to his swollen eye and sighed. Ben had been right, last night had not been a good idea.

"And what am I supposed to tell Luke? That you went out drinking in some lower level bar with his son and got him abducted by some criminal ring?"

"Well, that sounds like the truth. So, no."

"So yes! We aren't going to lie to my brother about Ben. And I'm not telling him, you are!"

Han nodded, accepting the inevitable. He stood shakily and walked out the door of the apartment building, leaving Leia seething behind him.

Luke was with a group of younglings when Han found him.

"Hey, Luke. Can we talk for a minute?" Han asked. Luke stepped out of the classroom, leaving an older apprentice in charge of the students.

"How'd it go last night? You snap Ben out of it?" Luke asked with a smile, not seeming to notice Han wasn't returning the expression.

"I think I might have…"

"I haven't seen him, did he crash at your place last night?"

"No Luke, he didn't. I don't know how to tell you this, but Ben and I went down to the Outlander Club last night-"

"You what?! You told me you guys were going to the space opera!"

"You believed that? Never mind. I'm really sorry Luke, but Ben is missing."

"WHAT?"

Han braced for verbal impact. A few of the Jedi milling about turned their gazes to the Grand Master, but Luke didn't seem to notice.

"He went outside to hail an air taxi, and when I came out a minute later, he was gone. For what it's worth, I'm really sorry Luke."

"Alright, what exactly happened? We need to find him." Luke knew that he would have felt his son's death in the Force, but he could still be in danger. As a Jedi, he knew that Ben could take care of himself, but as a father, he was starting to panic.

"I know, and I'll do whatever I can. The_ Falcon_ is completely at your disposal."

"Look, I know you didn't mean for this to happen, you were just trying to help. But please don't take my son out drinking again, alright?"

"Deal," Han agreed. "I don't think I'm going out drinking again," he added, pointing to his black eye.

"I'm not even going to ask…"

#

His head was going to explode, Ben was sure of it. The world was dark, and he didn't especially want to open his eyes, knowing that the potential light would cause even more pain. But he faced the fact that he couldn't keep his eyes shut from reality forever, and cautiously lifted his lids a centimeter, then all the way.

He was in a ship, that much he could tell; he could feel the vibration of the engines underneath his body, and he could see hyperspace flowing past him through the small window above.

He wasn't alone, in fact, far from it. He found himself lying in a large compartment with maybe twenty or so beings. The majority seemed to be humanoid, but Ben recognized a Sullustan and several Barabels among them.

Ben sat up, reaching down to see if he was still in possession of his lightsaber. He wasn't surprised to find his belt empty.

_What happened last night?_

He couldn't remember much, just fuzzy images. Han playing sabacc…a strange blue colored drink…red hair, not Mara's.

He looked around. A fair-skinned girl sat next to him, staring blankly into space with an angry glare.

"Hi, I'm Ben," he introduced himself, extending his hand.

Her glare shifted to observe him. She rolled her eyes, then returned to her original position. "Caliya," she answered, leaving her arms folded across her chest. Ben awkwardly returned his to his side.

"Do you know where we are?" he asked.

"On a ship of some kind, and if you can't figure that out, I'd say your chances of survival are pretty slim."

"I realize we're on a ship," Ben said, trying to keep from snapping at Caliya. "I was wondering if you knew why we're on this ship and who's in charge."

"Nope. No clue. Don't know if I really want to know. My advice to you would be to be patient. Captors like to brag, so I'm sure we'll know soon enough."

Drat her…logic. He didn't enjoy being lectured by his peers.

Ben looked over at her, but she didn't return the gaze, staring straight ahead as though her life depended on it.

That was fine with him. She was too crabby to be of any help anyway. Ben had just begun collecting his thoughts when a young woman entered the room through an almost invisible door to his right. Red hair…she looked so familiar.

The bar. She'd been in the bar.

Ben stood, moving to face her. "What's going on?" he asked, his tone leaving no room for discussion.

"Now why would I answer a question like that?" she replied, her voice sickeningly laced with fake sweetness.

"Because we have a right to know!" This time, it wasn't Ben who spoke, but a lanky dark haired man who'd been sitting next to Caliya.

"You don't have a right to know anything!" the redhead replied. "You're prisoners, and you'll be told things on a need to know basis. And right now, you don't need to know."

"Prisoners of whom?" the man demanded.

"Need to know…"

Ben watched silently as the man's eyes grew dark. He lunged forward, grabbing the woman by her throat.

"Tell me!" he screamed, squeezing tighter. The woman gasped, fear in her eyes. Ben saw too late that the fear was an act; the woman lifted her pistol from its holster and shot the man in the ribs.

He fell backwards, blood beginning to seep from the wound. Ben rushed forward at the same moment that Caliya let out a blood curdling scream. "Trevin!"

The redhead left through the door, unwilling to subject herself to another angry prisoner.

Caliya knelt on the other side of Trevin, holding his head in her lap. "Trevin, it's alright, you're going to be okay, I promise."

She looked across at Ben, her eyes silently asking if there was anything he could do. Ben shook his head, the shot had come from such close proximity. The woman obviously knew what she was doing; she'd shot him in too critical a location to save his life. Especially considering they had no medical supplies.

Trevin opened his mouth, blood coming out with the words. "I…love…you…Cal…" Trevin's eyes widened, then closed, his chest still.

"No!" Caliya yelled. "Bring him back!"

The other prisoners remained where they sat, knowing there was nothing they could do. Trevin's death only extinguished their hope further.

Ben reached out for Caliya's hand. "I'm sorry," he whispered, knowing there wasn't anything else he could do. But if any of them were going to get out of this situation, they all needed to stick together.

"Don't touch me!" she screamed. "He was my brother, and now he's dead. And it's all your fault!"


	5. Chapter 4: Thrasali

**A/N: I don't really have anything intelligent to say tonight, so without further ado, I present chapter 4…Thanks for reading!**

Chapter 4: Thrasali

"My fault?" Ben asked, not expecting the accusation.

"If you hadn't decided to stand up to that girl, he would still be alive!"

"Look, I'm sorry for whatever I did, honestly I am. But we can't be arguing amongst ourselves if we're going to try to escape."

"Try to escape? Why?" Caliya asked. "So we can get shot too? Count me out."

Ben sat back down, realizing that she just needed some time. After all, her brother had just been killed right in front of her eyes. Ben watched her stare at Trevin's still form, wishing that she'd let him help. But he could see in her defiant eyes that Caliya wasn't the type of person to accept help from anyone, least of all him.

So he sat, alone, waiting. Waiting for her to realize that if either of them were going to make it out of this, they'd need each other.

_What am I thinking? I just met the girl…_

Ben forced his thoughts from Caliya and tried to piece together what had happened. He'd been with Uncle Han at the club, and…gone to hail the taxi. Had Han been captured too? It was possible that whoever commanded this vessel had snatched him too. He wasn't in this holding cell anyway.

After several hours, Caliya stirred. She reached into Trevin's pocket and withdrew a small gold watch attached to a matching chain, then returned to her spot next to Ben. He was pretty certain their close proximity wasn't because she craved his company, but that the room was too full to allow her enough room anywhere else.

"Look, Caliya, I know you don't like me-" he began.

"That's an understatement."

"-but I only want to help. We can look out for each other."

"I can take care of myself!"

"What, like your brother took care of himself?" Ben asked, tired of her relentlessly sour attitude. "We need to help each other if you want to go back home, alright?"

"Well, maybe I don't have a home. Not one I want to go back to anyway. My brother was my home, and you didn't seem to value him too highly."

"There was nothing I could have done. How was I to know that he would defy the guard? I was just trying to gain some information, and I didn't even know he was with you."

Caliya didn't have a response.

_Maybe I'm getting through to her._ This thought gave him pause. _Why do I even care if I'm getting through to her?_

Caliya turned and looked Ben square in the face. "Stay away from me."

_Ouch_. Ben could almost feel the air turn cold around them. He nodded, giving up. Apparently he'd be doing this alone.

Ben felt the spacecraft shudder as they dropped out of hyperspace. He stood up, looking out the viewport. It was too high to get a good view of their surroundings, and all Ben saw was the blackness of space, with a few stars shining from hundreds of parsecs away.

He was about to sit down again when something strange drew his attention. Suddenly, as the ship descended into what Ben assumed was the atmosphere of a planet, the air turned black around them. Pitch black; no blinking lights shone from the outside of the craft, and the stars seemed to have burnt out. The air moved around the ship in swirls and patterns, just black. It was as though they were swimming through some kind of smoke or mist.

"That's weird," Ben muttered. It was unlike anything he'd ever seen before or read of in the Temple archives.

"What's weird?" Caliya asked, her curiosity winning out over her anger.

"The space around us is black…just black. Like a mist or something."

Caliya craned her neck to get a better look.

She didn't say anything, just took in the sight for a few moments and sat back down. Ben sighed. If anyone had asked him if what he was going to be doing today, this would have been the furthest thing from his mind. He sat down too, waiting for more information to present itself and returning to his Galactic Alliance Guard investigative mindset.

With a loud and jarring thunk, they landed. Whatever kind of ship they were in, it was in sore need of a repulsorlifts repair.

Ten minutes later, the door opened again, but this time a man entered. He was tall and muscular in an intimidating way. His untrimmed beard only added to the aura of fierceness he seemed to be trying to project; the large rifle helped in that area too.

"Alright," he boomed, "stand up. You're being taken to your barracks."

After Trevin's death, no one dared ask where they were or what they would be doing. Their fellow prisoners began to file out, but Caliya lingered. She knelt down beside her brother's body, not ready to say the final goodbye. Ben wasn't sure if he should leave and give her some space of if he should wait for her.

He let the others leave before him, and casually slipped into line beside Caliya. A lone tear slid down her face, but it was the only sign of weakness he saw. She took one last glance behind her, then turned forward and didn't look back.

Silently the prisoners stepped outside the door, into a long hallway that had similar looking doors every ten yards. There were more guards ready to escort them wherever they were going. Ben scanned the area, noticing the smallest details that might aid in an escape later down the road.

He'd noticed the failing repulsorlifts, and the rest of the ship didn't seem to be doing much better. The walls were starting to peel, and the air had a strange metallic smell. Ben recognized it as the scent an engine gives off when it hasn't had proper maintenance. Well, at least they could be thankful they hadn't been torn apart in deep space.

The guards carried all different models of weaponry, and weren't in any kind of uniform to speak of. So, whoever their captors were, they weren't some kind of organized military group. That could work in their favor, because it would mean less training. It could also work against them, as private mercenaries were less likely to show mercy, as exemplified by Trevin's brutal murder.

They exited the craft, and were lined up in a large room that functioned as some sort of hanger bay; however their transportation only took up half the space. Ben looked up and saw that there was no ceiling. It was dark, but an eerie kind of dark. It seemed that the mist he'd seen from the ship made up most of the planet's atmosphere. Whatever planet this was, it had a sun, but the rays were dulled by the dark clouds. It gave everything below a grey tint.

Ben had been in the last group to exit the spaceship, but was now in the first line of prisoners. They stood, waiting for almost half an hour. Finally, a woman who didn't appear to be a guard marched in. She didn't carry any visible weapons, and all the guards seemed to stand a little straighter upon her entrance. Her long black hair flowed behind her as she made her way to the front of the group.

"I am Rowena, and welcome to Thrasali." For such a small woman, her voice carried well, echoing off the stone walls of the chamber.

No one replied. What were they supposed to say? Thank you for your hospitality?

She grinned, a smile laced with corruption and power. "You all have been…brought here to aid in my important operation. My assistant, Bram, will be assigning you to your sleeping quarters. You will stay there tonight, and report for duty in the morning. Any questions you have can be directed towards any of your guards…although you may want to be careful; I just heard about what happens to those who ask stupid questions."

Rowena laughed, and Ben saw that it was taking everything in Caliya to stop herself from rushing up to Rowena and avenging Trevin's death. He tried to project peaceful thoughts into her mind, but there was quite a thick wall put up. Still, Caliya refrained from lashing out, squeezing her fists tightly instead.

Rowena turned to go, her black cape swirling behind her as she stalked away. The bearded man from the ship, who Ben assumed was Bram, began barking out orders.

"First line, follow guard 33 to your assigned barracks. Second line…"

Ben turned and followed the prisoners before him to their barracks.

They didn't have to walk for very long. Bram led them into a much smaller room. Much smaller. This was going to be crowded. The walls were lined with bunk beds, and Ben was half tempted to try and lighten the mood by running onto one of the top bunks and calling it. But Caliya's still grief stricken face kept him from doing so.

"When the bell rings, be ready to go."

Bram left without another word or further explanation as to what exactly they would be doing the next morning. The redheaded guard hadn't been kidding about the need to know basis.

#

"Come in!" Rowena barked when the knock came on her door. Bram entered, nodding to her in respect.

"Explain." She demanded, pointing to the metal cylinder lying on her desk.

"It's a lightsaber," Bram answered.

"I know it's a lightsaber, you idiot! I want to know why we have a lightsaber."

"Well, one of the young men we captured had one."

"You captured a Jedi? Are you insane? Do you have any idea how this is going to affect our plans?"

"I'm sorry, ma'am, we didn't want to just leave him unconscious on the side of the road. He may have seen us…"

"And so you thought that bringing him back here, to our secret base, was the better alternative? What a brilliant plan!" Rowena snapped back. "We're so close, Bram. We can't afford to slip up now!"

"I know, I'm sorry, it was a bad idea. I'll arrange for our Jedi to meet an…unfortunate end very soon. But we might as well get a few good days of work out of him, right? I mean, he can't plan an escape in under a week."

"Alright, but I'm making him your personal responsibility. If anything happens, I'm holding you accountable."

"Understood, ma'am. He'll be dead within the week."

"Good…then we can move on to other business," Rowena came out from behind her desk, lifted her face up to Bram's and kissed him.

#

Ben hopped onto one of the top bunks, while everyone else found a place to collapse and sleep. Caliya sat down on the nearest bed, which just happened to be the one underneath Ben's. Whether she had noticed him or not, he didn't know.

Ben decided that not much could be done tonight, so he rested his head on the mattress. He stared up at the ceiling, which was black, just like the sky outside the compound. In minutes, he was sound asleep.

But Caliya lay awake. Every time she tried to sleep, she saw Trevin, his emerald eyes, so similar to her own, closing forever.

_How can I do this without you?_ She asked the air silently. There was no reply. She was alone now. Utterly and completely alone.

Her only distraction from the despair that settled over her like a cloud was the annoyingly friendly redhead sleeping in the bunk above her.

Why in the name of sanity did she choose this bunk again?

#

Ben woke up to the clanging of a giant bell. The noise jerked him out of a deep sleep, and he groaned.

A deep sleep? He'd actually slept through the night with no haunting dreams.

_Apparently all I needed was a personal disaster to shake me out of this_. Ben thought. It was ironic, really. He'd asked for a mission and gotten kidnapped.

The bed wasn't equipped with a ladder, so Ben jumped down to the floor in a single leap. Caliya started when he landed right in front of her. Their eyes met for a second, and she glared at him. Ben gave her an understanding look; he knew what it was like to lose someone you loved, to go through a sleepless night. Either she didn't get the message in his eyes or simply didn't care, because she turned away. If Ben had to guess, he would assume it was the latter.

The door opened, and a few guards came through carrying trays of food. Or what their captors seemed to consider food; bowls filled with brown mush didn't constitute a meal for Ben.

It seemed that most of the beings in the room had been captured on empty stomachs, for most of them scrambled to grab bowls of the mush. Ben waited patiently until the rush ended, and he walked forward to grab two bowls. He took them both back to his bed, kneeling down before Caliya, who had stayed lying with her face turned to the wall.

"Here," Ben began. "Have something to eat."

She turned, peering at him over her shoulder. "I'm not hungry."

"Look, I know you're mad and hurting right now, but refusing to eat isn't going to help, believe me. We have no idea why we're here, but I have a feeling we're going to need a lot of energy."

"What makes you think that?" Caliya asked, not agreeing, but not arguing at least.

"Well, first of all, look at our fellow prisoners."

Caliya scanned the room while Ben continued. "All fairly young, healthy beings. That tells me that we'll be doing some kind of physical labor."

Caliya nodded, refusing to admit that she was impressed. Ben held out the bowl, and Caliya grudgingly took it. She stirred the glop around for a while, then cautiously took a bite. The stuff was bitter and gritty, but it was all she had.

At least, Caliya found after a handful of bites, the stuff was filling.

The door opened again five minutes later, and Bram walked in, his rifle pointed at the group. "Get in line and follow me." Silently, they all filed in behind Bram, and he led them out into the hallway. The hall led to a large turbolift that they were loaded into.

It was even more crowded in there than the spaceship's holding cell, and the prisoners were squished together, Ben and Caliya in one of the back corners.

"It's a good thing you all fit in here," Bram commented. "If a whole barrack doesn't fit in the elevator, we throw the extra workers down the shaft."

A collective look of alarm passed through the group, and Bram laughed. "I'm just kidding, relax. If you're going to die here, it won't be because you've been chucked down the elevator shaft."

Ben couldn't decide if that was comforting or frightening.


	6. Chapter 5: Spice and a Fishy Senator

**A/N: I'm updating a little early this week, since I'll be busy with a Super Bowl party on Sunday night…Go Seahawks! I'm hoping to get another chapter posted before next weekend too. And I'd like to give a BIG thank you to NightFuryofGallifrey for helping me with editing :) **

Chapter 5: Spice and a Fishy Senator

They descended rather quickly, and Ben found his ears popping after the first couple hundred yards.

"Mining," he whispered to Caliya.

"What?"

"Mining. That's the only reason I can think of why they'd bring us so far underground."

She nodded. "Spice, probably. They seem like spice smugglers."

Ben didn't ask Caliya why she could recognize the spice smuggler type.

Finally, they jolted to a halt, and exited the elevator. It was damp and dark, and a strong odor hit Ben's nostrils as he stepped out.

"Welcome to your new existence!" Bram exclaimed, sweeping his hand around their new environment dramatically. No one replied. "But down to business," he continued. "You will be spending nearly every waking moment of your lives mining glitterstim down here. For those of you upstanding, sheltered citizens who don't know what glitterstim is, it's a spice. An addicting narcotic. And you're going to help us give it to the galaxy."

Still no reply from anyone in the group. What was there to say? Agreement was mandatory and argument was suicide.

"We must have complete darkness, except for these red lights, or else the glitterstim will activate and become worthless," Bram continued. "Oh, and a word of warning: raw glitterstim is very sharp, so be careful when harvesting. You're no good to us with a missing hand." Bram laughed, the sound echoing through the tunnel.

Bram and a few of the other guards who had accompanied them down began to show the prisoners the process of mining glitterstim. It was difficult to see clearly, and Ben cut his finger a little on the first try.

He found himself working beside Caliya. It seemed that in these dark tunnels, she wanted to be near a familiar face, even if that face was his. They didn't speak, too concentrated on the work before them. Any distraction could cause even a minor slip up and sever a digit.

About halfway through the day, some of the guards left and came back down with rations for themselves and the prisoners. Ben and Caliya were handed a small bottle of water and some dried food packages.

Ben tore open his first package. It looked like some kind of red fruit. He put a piece on his tongue; the flavor was sharp, but pleasant.

"Here, try this," Ben told Caliya. She hesitated, still extremely wary of him, but reached in and retrieved a piece.

"Not bad," she commented, extending her packet for Ben to try. "Here, I think this is some kind of meat. At least that's what I'm going to assume anyway."

Ben tried it, chewing the hard square for five minutes before he could swallow.

"Alright, get back to work!" a guard called. Ben noticed that Bram had gone up with the guards on lunch duty and hadn't returned.

Ben and Caliya stuffed the remaining food into their pockets, and went back to work. As the hours passed, he could feel his body beginning to tire. And he was used to long training sessions; Caliya was in far worse shape, sweat pouring from her face even in the cool caverns. Just when he thought none of them could take it any longer, the guards hustled everyone back into elevator, and they returned to the surface. Or what Ben had assumed was the surface, since he'd yet to see a window in their quarters.

When they arrived back at the barracks, Caliya dragged her feet the few more yards to her bed, and collapsed in exhaustion. Ben regretted claiming the high bunk, his muscles protesting as he jumped up above an already sleeping Caliya.

#

"Alright, what are we going to do about Ben?" Leia asked. She, Han, and Luke were all sitting in their apartment, discussing the next step. Ben had yet to turn up, and there had to be something they could do.

Han just felt like it was a grilling session. A much deserved one, but a grilling nonetheless.

"And you're sure that's all you remember?" Luke asked. The worry in his voice made Han feel even guiltier.

"I'm sorry, I was drunk. I could barely put one foot in front of the other. By the time I got out there, Ben was gone."

"Alright, so you were at the Outlander Club. Do we know of any major gangs who are in that area that could have kidnapped him?"

"I don't know personally," Leia replied, "but I'm sure we could find out."

"Mistress Leia," C-3PO spoke up. He'd been uncharacteristically silent until this point in the conversation, as though Ben's disappearance left him disconcerted. "There is that senator who's been working on some projects to get that section of the planet cleaned up. Speaking with him might provide the information you require."

"That's a good idea," Luke agreed, grabbing his outer robe off the Solo's sofa where he'd set it. "What's this senator's name?"

"Byron Solfus, from Aargau." C-3PO answered.

"The banking planet?" Luke asked.

"Yes, The Bank of Aargau is part of the Intergalactic Banking Clan."

"Never head of one of those financial types being interested in humanitarian issues."

"Luke, you've never been one to judge by appearances. I'm sure you'll like Senator Solfus, he's a very nice man," Leia told her brother. "I don't know him very well, but I've met him on several occasions."

"I'm a nice man," Han interjected, wiggling his eyebrows in Leia's direction. Leia smirked, pursing her lips in amusement; if it hadn't been for the grave circumstances, she might have laughed out loud.

Luke stared at them. "I don't get it."

"And you never will, brother." Leia replied, taking Luke's arm and guiding him towards the door. "You never will."

#

The Senate Building wasn't too far away from the Solo's apartment. A blue skinned Twi'lek secretary sat at a desk outside Solfus' inner office.

"Can I help you?" she asked politely, her lekku swaying slightly.

"Yes," Leia answered, stepping forward. "We need to speak with Senator Solfus as soon as possible."

"Wait, you're Former Chief of State Solo, aren't you?"

"I am. This is General Solo, and Grand Jedi Master Skywalker."

The Twi'lek gave them a look of welcome mixed with intimidation at being so close to some of Coruscant's most prestigious celebrities. "Senator Solfus is in a meeting right now, but he should be done in about ten minutes."

"That's perfectly alright." Leia smiled. "We'll wait."

The three of them took seats on the sofa.

"It's going to be at least half an hour before we get in there, so we might as well make ourselves busy," Leia stated, grabbing a holozine from the nearby table.

"What do you mean?" Luke asked. "She said it'd be ten minutes."

"Politician time is different than standard galactic time. Whenever a senator tells you a time, double it, and you'll be pretty close."

Leia was spot on. Twenty nine minutes and fifty seconds after they'd arrived, Senator Solfus' door opened, and five beings emerged. Four of them left, and the senator walked over to them.

"Leia, how good to see you! How are you doing?"

Leia shook his hand. "I'm doing alright Byron, how are you?"

"Good as ever I suppose. What brings you all down here?" he asked, shaking Han and Luke's hands.

"Unfortunately, this isn't a purely social call. We need your help."

"I'd be happy to. Please, step into my office."

Luke and the Solos followed Byron into his office. The décor was elaborate, reflecting the wealth of Aargau's upper class. An intricately woven rug lay on the floor, and large paintings hung from the walls in shiny golden frames. They took a seat in front of the senator's desk.

"Now, what can I do?"

Luke let his sister do the explaining, knowing she was much better at getting what she wanted in the political realm.

"My nephew, Luke's son, Ben is missing."

A look of concern crossed Byron's face. Leia continued.

"It happened last night. Han and Ben were at the…Outlander Club. Ben went outside to hail an air taxi, and when Han came out, Ben was gone."

"The Outlander Club…I've been trying to get that place shut down for years. Such a hive of scum and villainy."

Han stiffened, trying not to appear offended that Senator Solfus had essentially just called him scum, if not a villain.

"Yes," Leia agreed, giving her husband a sideways glance of warning. "I know that you've been doing some work in that section of town, cleaning the area up. We were just wondering if you knew of any more prominent gangs who may have kidnapped Ben for some reason."

"Hmm, let me see. The Scorpions are one of the larger gangs in that part of the city, and they do have a habit of capturing young adolescents and forcing them to join. If I had to venture a guess, it would be that they have Ben."

"Do they have some kind of headquarters, somewhere we could go to look for him?" Luke asked.

"They're always moving from one abandoned warehouse or building to another, so they're very hard to pin down. The Scorpions are a very large group, but they've divided themselves into smaller sects to avoid detection. You could find as many as ten or so different Scorpion gangs in the Outlander area. Any of them could have taken Ben, and they could really be anywhere by now."

Leia nodded. "I see. Well, if you find anything out, please let us know."

"Consider it done," Byron replied. "I'm sorry that I couldn't be of any more help."

"That's alright Senator," Leia answered with a smile. "We appreciate your assistance."

The three of them exited the office, and walked down the hallway of the Senate building.

"So where do we go from here?" Luke asked, the question directed to himself as much as his family.

"I don't know, but there's something fishy about Senator Solfus."

"I thought you said he was a 'nice man'" Han countered.

"Nice men can be scoundrels, and scoundrels can be nice men. I've learned that firsthand. He just seemed…different from the times I've encountered him in the past. "

"What do you mean by 'fishy'?" Luke asked his sister. "He seemed to be very cooperative and pleasant, even if his taste does seem a bit extravagant. I couldn't sense any deception in him."

"Luke, he's a politician. The whole Old Order couldn't sense the deception of the Emperor. They're talented liars because they actually believe what they're saying. It's sick, but true."

"So what was he lying about?"

"Well, first of all, Senator Solfus simply doesn't care about helping undercity citizens, otherwise he wouldn't be spending thousands of credits on solid gold picture frames."

"Those were solid gold?" Han asked.

"Yes, and they looked antique too. There has to be some ulterior motive for this charity, I just don't know what that might be. And his information is outdated. The Scorpion leaders were arrested during the war, and the remaining members disbanded. If he was really involved with this project as personally as he claims to be, he'd know that."

"So basically that trip got us nowhere," Han pointed out dejectedly. He was never going to be irresponsible again, if they just found Ben.

"Not necessarily. I have a strange feeling that Ben's disappearance has something to do with the good senator, I just don't know how. I mean, Ben's a Jedi. Even if he was a little um, intoxicated-"

Han avoided Leia's eyes.

"-he would still be able to defend himself. Whoever it was knew what they were doing and caught him off guard."

"That's true," Luke interjected. "When Ben knows what he's dealing with, he can defend against it. But a bullet shot in the dark can take down a Jedi who isn't expecting it or whose reflexes have been slowed down."

Han wanted to crawl into a hole.

"So if we find out what Senator Solfus' game is, maybe we'll find Ben?"

"That's what I'm thinking."

"Well, we don't have much else to go on," Luke agreed. "Where do we start?"

"First, we should look into the records of all his doings. Where he's been traveling, his schedule, who he's been meeting with, his finances, things like that. Then we can look for unusual patterns or funds that are unaccounted for."

"Where do we find all that?" Luke asked.

"Well, with my security access, I can see it at any terminal in the Senate Building. But it might be more secure to do the search back at the apartment."


	7. Chapter 6: Buried

**A/N: Hope everyone's having a great week. I'll try to post Chapter 7 on Sunday and we can get back to the usual schedule. Thanks for reading!**

Chapter 6: Buried

The next day went much like the first, only it began with sore, aching muscles. Ben got a little better at harvesting the glitterstim, and hadn't cut his hands all day. Still, the wounds from yesterday hadn't finished healing, and dirt found its way inside, rubbing underneath his flesh. Still, as frustrated as Ben was, he knew Caliya was doing far worse, trying to deal with her grief and stay alive at the same time. She was utterly exhausted, mentally and physically.

Still, her stubbornness kept her going. He saw her glare at the glitterstim, daring it to stand in her way. Ben was glad though; their captors probably didn't have much patience for prisoners who were puddles on the floor.

They began to settle into a pattern, and exchanged a few words. The guards didn't seem to care, so conversations sparked up all along the tunnel where they were harvesting.

"So where are you from?" Ben asked after they'd finished eating lunch.

"My homeworld."

Ben decided to play along. "Really? That's funny, me too!"

Caliya laughed softly, and it was a beautiful sound; partially because this was the first time she had since Trevin's death, and because it made him want to laugh too. "I actually don't remember where I was born; we moved around a lot. But we've been on Corellia for the last few years."

Ben didn't want to pry, so he didn't ask if 'we' was just Caliya and her brother, or if their parents were still alive.

"I have an uncle who's Corellian." Han. Poor guy must be going crazy back home, having to tell dad, if he wasn't somewhere on Thrasali mining too. "Must have been pretty hectic over there during the war, huh?"

"Yeah, everyone was picking sides, arguing about every pro and con of joining the GA. And that nut job Solo kid, killing everything in sight."

Ben inwardly cringed, somehow feeling guilty that a member of his family had caused so much pain to the galaxy at large.

"You okay?" Caliya asked, noticing the emotions his face betrayed.

"Oh, yeah. You're right, he was a nut job alright."

"I have to admit that I was happy to be rid of him so things could get back to normal. Ironic, isn't it? My life was more normal during the war. Never thought I'd get kidnapped by spice smugglers to harvest glitterstim."

"I guess it's just one of those things no one really thinks about until it happens."

"Yeah." Caliya grew silent again. She must have noticed that she'd actually been having a conversation with Ben. But she was slowly letting him in; that was a good sign. It meant she wasn't living in her anger and depression, even though they were living in her.

Caliya lifted the container she'd filled with spice, and went to go deposit it into the main collection. Before she could leave her spot though, a blonde guy with green eyes stepped in front of her.

"Hey there," he said sweetly. "Want me to carry that for you?"

Caliya shook her head and tried to step around him, but he moved to block her path.

"I'm Jerrick, and who might you be?"

"None of your business," she replied with a stare of annoyance.

"I'm pleased to make your acquaintance." Jerrick flashed her a smile. "Hey, would you like to hang out and talk sometime?"

Caliya raised her eyebrows, doubtful that Jerrick was very interested in just talking. Ben sat silently, watching the exchange.

"No. I'm kind of busy harvesting glitterstim and sleeping," she answered, distain dripping from her tone.

"Well maybe I could help with the last part…"

All the patience drained from Caliya. "Out of my way. Now."

"Feisty, aren't we?"

Ben stood. "Hey, you heard her Jerrick, out of the way."

"And who might you be? The Chief of State? Don't boss me around. The lady and I were just having a little conversation."

Ben walked closer until he stood eye to eye with Jerrick. "I may not be anybody to you, but I promise I'll make an impression on your face if you don't get out of her way right now." Ben glared, clenching his fist as though he was preparing to throw a punch.

"Alright, alright. No chic is worth all this trouble anyway," Jerrick muttered, returning to his harvesting station.

Caliya turned to Ben. "Thanks."

"No problem. Jerrick? More like Jerk…"

That brought a small smile from Caliya's lips. "That's a much more appropriate name."

Ben could tell she was still a little shaken up. "Here, I'll go dump this load, you can get started on my box."

Caliya nodded and got back to work. They had almost finished harvesting the threads in this cavern, and would have to move on soon. Caliya stared at the chunk of glitterstim in her palm; as much as her current predicament angered her to the core, she had to admit it was pretty. It sparkled, and the high spectrum red lights gave it a crimson glow.

Ben returned and they worked in silence for a while, harvesting until the glitterstim gave way to normal rock.

"Alright, this way to the next deposit." Bram said, leading them further into the tunnels. "This area isn't nearly as dense, so you'll be working in teams and spreading out more."

They reached a circular chamber that had smaller tunnels branching off in all directions. Bram consulted a clipboard, then spoke again. "Whoever you're bunked with will be your partner. I want you two," he pointed at Ben and Caliya, "to go all the way to the end of this tunnel. The next team will start at the entrance, and you'll meet in the center. Understood?"

They nodded, and set off towards their tunnel while Bram finished giving assignments.

#

Bram sent everyone off as quickly as he could, then opened a channel to Rowena.

"Everything's in place. We're proceeding with the plan."

"See that you do. And I want to see you when you're done…report to my office."

Bram grinned, and set off for the elevator. He rode it up to the mining operation's primary control center.

This was going to be easy. He'd had the guards place explosives right around the Jedi's tunnel, and all he'd have to do was set them off. The end of the tunnel would collapse, killing him. And the girl too, but that was just unfortunate. They had to make it appear an accident so as not to instigate a revolt.

Quickly. Quietly. Simply. That Jedi wouldn't be a problem to them anymore. Bram pushed the button that activated the explosives and left for Rowena's office.

#

Ben and Caliya hadn't been working for twenty minutes when a loud boom echoed through the tunnel.

"What was that?" Caliya asked, looking around.

The ground began to shake, and dust fell from the ceiling into their eyes.

"Earthquake!" Ben yelled, and he grabbed Caliya's hand, pulling her towards the exit of the tunnel. But before they had traveled five yards, the ceiling of rock collapsed in front of their path. Ben pulled them both backwards, narrowly avoiding being squashed by the tons of rock that now sat like a wall in front of them.


	8. Chapter 7: Fireworks and Secrets

**Sorry I'm a bit late, this weekend was pretty crazy…but here's chapter 7! I'll post 8 as soon as I can :) Thank you all for your support!**

Chapter 7: Fireworks and Secrets

Caliya coughed, and Ben breathed a sigh of relief. They hadn't been crushed. But how were they going to get out?

Before a possible solution could even begin to enter Ben's mind, the now sealed chamber began to echo with the sound of collapsing rock once again.

"Get back!" Ben urged, and they ran to the corner as another ton of rock slammed down on where they had just been standing, kicking up more dust. Caliya started coughing again.

"I can't breathe in here," she gasped, still leaning on Ben's shoulder. He squinted, trying to see a way out, any escape from suffocating in here.

"I know, just try to breathe through your nose. Cover your face with the hood of your jacket. That should keep some of the dust out while we figure a way out of this, alright?"

Caliya turned the hood up over her face. Ben held his over his mouth, but kept thinking, scanning the area.

"We're going to die here, aren't we?" Caliya asked. All hints of sarcasm and stubbornness had faded from her eyes. Now she was just a scared woman, coming face to face with her imminent death. "I guess I'll be seeing Trevin sooner than I'd expected."

"No, I'll get you out of this, I promise. I just need to think. Here, take a drink," he told her, handing her their water jug.

"Ben, what good is water going to do? We only have a few more minutes of air left in here, fifteen tops. The rock's too heavy to move, and those spice smugglers don't seem like the merciful kind who would rescue their slaves from a tunnel collapse."

"We can't give up, not yet," Ben replied, running a hand through his hair in frustration. The red color was barely visible anymore, his head was so coated in thin dirt and grime.

Caliya lowered the cloth from her face. "Can't breathe under there anymore." She looked up. "It's over Ben. There's nothing you can do, alright? But that's okay. Thanks for being my friend."

Caliya stepped forward and kissed him gently. They were about to die, and the dirt mixed with the sweetness. But it was still perfect. Ben cupped Caliya's neck with his hands, deepening the kiss. It felt like fireworks were going off in his soul.

Ben suddenly pulled away, looking at Caliya with a huge grin on his face. "Fireworks!"

"Um, thank you?"

"No, no. Well, that too, but I think I can get us out of here."

"How?"

"I'll explain as I go. Hand me that tool over there."

Caliya bent down and gave him the metal pick she'd been using to harvest the glitterstim.

"Alright, so I remember reading somewhere about how the energy spiders that make glitterstim usually live in caves of telkite rock. From the size of the chunks we've been harvesting, I'd say there's a ninety percent chance these walls are made of telkite."

Ben could almost hear Uncle Han's voice in his mind. _Never tell me the odds!_

Thank the stars that today they were in his favor.

"What's so special about telkite rock though?" Caliya asked, trying to keep up with Ben's reeling thoughts.

"Well, telkite is very flammable. In fact, I think it's used to light fires in some primitive cultures. And we have that red light bulb. If I can rig that to explode, it'll blow a pretty big hole, and we can get out of here. But we can't get out the way we came. The rock that just fell is too unstable, and it would probably crush us when it shifted. We'll have to go up."

"But even if we do blow a big hole, we're still a long way from the surface. We'd never be able to make it out."

"If this was a normal cavern, I would agree with you. But it's not, it's a glitterstim cavern. And glitterstim is made by energy spiders, who create these tunnels. If we just get from one tunnel level to the next, we should be able to make it out."

Caliya grinned. "What can I do to help?" she asked, the hope that had returned to them clearly showing on her face. Despite the dirt, her smile was brighter than he'd ever seen it.

"Hand me the light over there, and we'll give this a go."

Ben found a patch of rock that appeared to be pure telkite, and set to work. Soon, they had a makeshift bomb. He looked around, trying to judge where the safest place to be while it went off was. The left corner seemed the most stable, and the chances of them getting crushed was quite minimal.

"Okay, I'm going to ignite this. Go stand in the corner there, and pray that this works."

#

Rowena was in her room, waiting for Bram. To pass the time, she had been going over various progress reports. Their final step would soon be in place, so they could really move forward.

Bram came in, not bothering to knock when he entered her quarters.

"What took you so long?" she asked seductively, pulling him in for a kiss.

"The Jedi is dead," Bram confirmed when they pulled apart minutes later.

"Good," Rowena replied, her lips curving into a cruel smile. "I sure am glad I picked you up on Desacaray," she continued, running her finger along his cheekbone. "What would I do without my right hand man?"

Bram grinned. He remembered that day well. It had been just another day serving drinks until Rowena had showed up and offered him the chance of a lifetime. To really change things in the galaxy, make them better for those who'd always been trampled on. And he'd never even anticipated falling in love with her and having her respond in kind.

His life was definitely going about as perfectly as he could imagine, Bram thought as he leaned forward to kiss Rowena again.

#

Luke, Han, and Leia had been going through Senator Solfus' past for over two hours, and hadn't uncovered anything more interesting than air taxi receipts and phone conversations with various colleagues.

Leia rubbed her eyes, continuing to scroll down the page. C-3PO watched, ready to lend a hand in their search, not saying much. His services weren't needed and Luke could tell that the droid didn't like feeling helpless.

"I don't think we're going to find anything in his travel records Leia," Han commented. "All this guy does is travel on diplomatic missions and to Aargau."

"Wait, I think I found something!" Leia exclaimed. Luke leaned forward in his chair, looking at the date Leia had seen.

"What is it?" Luke asked, not seeing anything too obvious.

"Well, for this week it shows that Byron didn't use his personal ship at all. But when we looked at the same week on his schedule, it said that he was gone on vacation that week. Now why would he need a whole week off, and not take his cruiser anywhere?"

"Maybe he wanted to get away from the publicity and took public transportation."

"I don't think so; his security team wouldn't allow it. For some reason, he didn't want to take his ship wherever he went that week, and we're going to figure out why."

"Is it possible that Byron just took a vacation here on Coruscant, and didn't even go off planet?"

"Possible, but unlikely. He spends most of their time on Coruscant, so he'd want to vacation somewhere else. And with all that wealth, probably somewhere luxurious."

"How long ago was this?" Han asked.

"About six months."

"Where should we go from here?"

"We can start by poking around Byron's residence, see if anyone there remembers anything. Let's also check his various accounts for that week, and see if he was spending any more or less credits than usual."

Leia typed in the command, and the senator's finances came up on the screen. She scrolled to the appropriate date.

"Well this is unusual. It looks like there was a three thousand credit withdrawal from his business account, and five thousand credits were added to his personal account."

"That sounds like blackmail to me." Han commented.

"You're probably right," Luke agreed. "What does it say the money he spent was for?"

"Some kind of charity work for adolescents living in the lower levels. A charity that could have very easily been faked. I think we need to go back to his office and speak with his secretary, see what she remembers from that week."

"But we'll want to make sure he isn't around when we're there," Luke added. "Do you know of any times you're sure he'll be gone?"

"There's an important Senate session starting in two hours that I'm positive he'll be attending. We can go then."

"And in the meantime, go talk to some of Byron's neighbors." Han said, eager to get to the bottom of this.

#

Byron Solfus lived in a very expensive penthouse suite in the Senate Apartment Complex, which was located right across from the Senate building. As they entered, several beings of various species milled about, conversing idly or going about their business.

"Senator Solfus lives on level 200," Leia whispered, and they entered the turbo lift. The doors were just about to close when a Sullustan darted in. When he saw the floor they'd selected, he didn't move to choose another.

"So, you live on the 200th floor too?" Leia questioned casually, noticing the Sullustan's regal garments, assuming he was a senator as well.

"I do," he replied. "I'm Senator Morbeus. But you need not introduce yourself, Former Chief of State Solo."

Leia laughed. "I suppose not. Say, we're just on our way to see if Senator Solfus is around. Do you know each other?"

"Not very well, I'm afraid. We live right across the hall from one another, but never seem to converse very much. The busy life of a senator and all, I suppose. But I do see him every morning, because we leave for the Senate at about the same time."

"Yes, I remember those busy days very well. Say, we are part of a team investigating Senator Solfus for some charity funding. Just want to make sure his character is completely upright. You can never be too sure these days. I realize that you and the senator had only a casual relationship, but could you tell us if you've ever noticed anything strange or unusual about him?"

Senator Morbeus paused, thinking. "I don't think so. Except, well there was that one time…"

Han and Luke waited silently, Leia giving the Sullustan's mind a slight Force nudge, urging him to tell them.

Just then the turbolift made a small chime, and the doors opened. They all stepped out, and Senator Morbeus continued.

"We were both involved in a very important set of negotiations concerning the trade routes of both of our planets, among others. We'd been going through them for about a week, and had a week left, when Senator Solfus just disappeared."

"What do you mean, disappeared?"

"He stopped attending the meetings, which doesn't make any sense. We'd come so far, and I knew that the project was of enormous importance. That whole week, I never saw him in the morning. Then, he just reappeared. Said something about a family emergency, but something seemed strange. I couldn't quite put my finger on it…"

Senator Morbeus paused, as though somehow just realizing that he was talking ill of a fellow senator whom he respected. "But I'm sure it was nothing," he added.

"You're probably right," Leia agreed. "Thank you for your help."

"Not a problem." Senator Morbeus nodded to them, and entered his suite.

"Well that's certainly interesting," Luke observed. "Even a non-Force-sensitive being can tell that something's up."

"You'd be surprised at our perception sometimes," Han said indignantly. Not that he had anything at all to hold over Luke at the moment.

"The question is, what? Where was Byron during that week?"

"Maybe his apartment will give us some clues," Luke said, moving towards the door.

"You do realize that it's quite illegal to break and enter," Han cautioned. "And aren't the Jedi supposed to uphold the law?"

"We're on an investigation, Han. That's different."

"Not an official investigation. No warrant."

Luke glared a little in frustration. "Look, I don't really care right now. Jedi or law abiding citizen or whatever, I'm getting my son back. And if Solfus has anything to do with his disappearance, we're going to bring him down."

Han kept his mouth shut as Luke used the Force to shift the lock open, and they entered silently.

Thankfully, the suite was empty.

"Alright, lets spread out," Leia advised. "Look for any strange looking documents. Pretty much any documents, as most would be kept at his office. Anything that just looks out of place."

Luke moved towards the desk, opening drawers, and carefully searching through piles of paperwork. A datapad sat on a nearby table, but it was password encrypted.

Han went inside the bedroom, peering in Byron's closet without disturbing any of the clothes. There were mostly suits made of silky fabric, with slippery slacks, and a few full length robes. His shoes were made of supple leather that looked both comfortable and slightly formal. A standard senator's wardrobe.

Until he saw a piece of brown fabric sticking out from beneath a tray of shoes. He pulled it out, discovering that it was a robe made of coarse material. Not anything a Galactic Senator would wear at all, but rather the clothes of a poor commoner.

"Hey, come in here guys!" Han hissed, trying to keep his voice down. "I think our dear senator was going somewhere he didn't want to be recognized," he continued, holding up the garment when his wife and brother-in-law entered.

"I think you're right," Leia agreed. "That's certainly not anything he would wear around Coruscant."

Luke examined the cloth more closely. "There's some remnants of dust on here. I can take a small sample and see if the minerals on the robe are unique to any certain planet or system. That could narrow down our search a little."

"Good idea. Here's a little bag to collect it in." Leia handed him a small plastic pouch, and Luke shook a little of the dirt inside.

"The lab technicians at the Temple can have this analyzed by tonight."

Just then, they saw a very unique looking speeder whiz by the window. It was painted bright yellow, with the crest of the Solfus family painted on the side.

"That's Byron, we need to get out of here!" Leia exclaimed. Han shoved the robe back where he'd found it, and the three of them hurried to exit the apartment. Luke relocked the door with a nudge with the Force as they walked down the hallway.

Leia depressed the turbolift call button, and they waited. The screen showed the turbolift moving up to them. But the one on the other side, which was most likely carrying Solfus, was moving just a bit faster.

They weren't going to be able to avoid him.

"I got this," Luke assured them, and he cracked a smile when Byron got out of the turbolift.

"Senator Solfus! I'm glad we ran into you. I'd almost given up when you didn't answer the door."

"Oh, yes I just had to pick something up, then head back to the Senate building for a special session."

"Then I won't keep you," Luke continued. "I just have a quick question. I know you've organized several charities for the area of town where Ben disappeared. I was just wondering if you could give me a bit more information about them; I'd like to maybe go down there and help out a bit, see what information I can glean."

"Well," Senator Solfus began. "If you'd like to speak with my secretary, I'm sure she can help you get everything sorted. Now, I do apologize, but I really do have to go."

"Not a problem, thank you for your help." Luke replied, and they stepped into the turbolift Byron had recently vacated.

Byron Solfus unlocked his apartment door and went inside. He retrieved the papers he needed, and went into the bedroom to get a different jacket. He was just about to leave when he noticed his robe sticking out from underneath his shoes. It wouldn't do to let that to be discovered; he rolled it up and stuffed it further back. With Rowena, who knew when he'd need to use the thing again?


	9. Chapter 8: Legacies

**A/N: I don't seem to have much of a posting schedule anymore, do I? I shall have to work towards amending that. In the meantime, here is chapter 8…**

**I also feel like I should be adding cute and slightly entertaining disclaimers. Therefore, *inserts cute and slightly entertaining disclaimer*. Thank you. **

Chapter 8: Legacies

Caliya crouched in the corner, hands over her head, while Ben ignited the charge and ran to join her. He held the explosive with the Force so that it would blow the hole in the least dangerous position.

Ben knelt, shielding Caliya with his body. Five seconds later, the explosion rocked the cave, and a mixture of fragmented rock and dirt fell on Ben's back. Caliya had been thrown forward onto the wall, but it appeared that a small bruise was the only injury she'd sustained.

"You alright?" he asked, and Caliya nodded. Ben stood cautiously, shaking the debris from his back.

"You're a Jedi, aren't you?" she asked. "I saw what you did there, holding the bomb there in midair."

Ben nodded. He'd been wondering if Caliya had noticed. "I would've told you sooner, but I didn't want it to be general knowledge. Especially when they found out which Jedi I am."

"Ben-oh. You're seriously Ben Skywalker?"

"In the flesh."

"Um, okay then. Did not see that coming."

"Look, Cal, I promise that we'll get out of this. Or I'll die trying."

They looked up, surveying the damage the blast had done. Except for the somewhat iridescent webs of glitterstim, the cavern was almost completely dark.

"It looks like we did it!" Ben exclaimed.

"Don't get too excited yet," Caliya warned. "We still need to climb up to the next tunnel and hope that one of them leads to the surface." But she was smiling, survival at least an option on the table now. But so was falling to their deaths, being eaten alive by energy spiders, or reaching the surface only to find it uninhabitable.

"What I wouldn't give for some rope right now," Ben said wistfully, staring up the tunnel.

_Or my lightsaber._

But both items were wishful thinking, and they needed to start climbing. Thankfully, the rock walls weren't smooth, but a rough surface filled with bumps and indents they could use as hand and footholds. Ben and Caliya began their ascent, not speaking, concentrating on every movement. One step could mean the difference between survival and death. Falling just wasn't an option.

The distance to the next tunnel was much longer than it had looked. Then again, the shadows and the dim light did distort vision. Ben reached out in the Force, trying to sense how much longer they had.

"Just a few more feet Cal!" he called out, urging her upwards. Caliya grunted, her muscles straining as she reached out to find another piece of rock to grasp. Just then, the small ledge she'd been standing on broke, and her hand grasped frantically in midair for somewhere to hold. None came to meet her, and it took all of Ben's concentration to channel the Force, keeping Cal from plummeting.

She opened her eyes, expecting to be pasted on the cavern floor. When she'd realized what happened, she reached forward, finding a secure position once more. "Thanks," she gasped, looking up gratefully.

Ben finally reached the top, hauling his body over the edge. He turned back to check on Cal's progress. She had only a few more feet. Ben reached out his arm to grab hers, and hauled her onto solid ground. Or ground that he was hoping was solid.

They sat together, catching their breath.

"I-I could have fallen," Cal stuttered, still processing Ben's powers.

"But you didn't, that's the important thing, right?"

She nodded, and Ben extended a hand to help her up. "Ready to keep going?"

"Yep, the sooner I'm out of these cursed tunnels the better."

"Agreed."

They set off again, still hand in hand. For the next few hundred yards, the tunnel was pretty flat, and the terrain wasn't too difficult. Then, the path took a sharp turn upwards, and Ben and Cal were forced to crawl at an angle that tortured already straining muscles.

Finally, the path turned flat again.

"I think the worst is behind us," Ben said, trying to reassure Caliya.

"I hope you're right, but I have this strange feeling that you aren't."

No sooner had the words escaped her mouth than they heard the slightest noise. It sounded like the rush of dozens of tiny feet, as though a group of children were running through the tunnels.

"Do you hear that?" Ben asked, silently wishing he was just hearing things.

"Yes."

"I think I was wrong."

The sound grew steadily closer and louder.

"Here, let's go sit in the corner, and maybe it'll ignore us."

They moved as close to the wall as possible, as the energy spider came creeping along. Ben watched, every muscle in his body tense, his mind alert to any coming danger. But so many possible deadly scenarios were running through his mind that it was impossible to try finding a solution to all of them simultaneously.

They caught sight of the spider. It was large, almost the size of a full grown human. Ben could feel Caliya trying unsuccessfully to hold back a shudder. It paused a few feet away from them, as though somehow sensing their presence. Its bulbous eye peered through the darkness, and Ben saw it focus right on them.

Ben began projecting thoughts of peace and goodwill towards the spider, mixed with a suggestion that it continue its journey and ignore their intrusion.

The spider continued towards them, and Ben realized that unless he made an intervention, they'd both end up as energy spider lunch. He stepped forward, putting his hand out in a gesture of peace.

The spider kept coming, the darkness of the caves making the black form ten times as scary as it would have been in broad daylight. All Caliya could see in her mind's eye was the creature extending one of its appendages and impaling her through the chest.

_Jacen, give me your way with animals_, Ben pleaded. It didn't even occur to him that he'd just thought of his cousin the way he'd been, without the tainting of recent memories coming into play.

The spider slowed, its head swinging back and forth and claw-like legs freezing momentarily. Ben continued to project the suggestion that the spider leave, which it refused to do. But at least it wasn't moving forward anymore.

"Cal," Ben whispered. "Are you scared?"

"Of course I'm scared, Ben."

"You need to stop, and I don't mean that in a callous way. The spider can sense your distress, and it's confusing from the thoughts I'm trying to project.

"Alright." Caliya took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Ben could already feel her relax a bit.

The energy spider took a step backwards.

"Good job, keep going."

Caliya leaned against Ben, relaxing completely. Her mental control surprised Ben; usually people who weren't Force sensitive took a lot longer to calm down when faced with a high adrenaline situation.

The spider paused for one more moment, then began to walk again, its legs carrying it down the cavern's hall.

Ben let out the breath he hadn't noticed he'd been holding, and they both leaned against the stone wall, too relieved for words.

"You ready?" Ben asked after a minute. Caliya nodded, and he helped her up. They both took a tiny sip from the water jug. Ben didn't mention how low they were getting; they could only survive so long in here without hydration, and who knew how much longer they had to climb to get out of here. But one problem at a time.

An hour later, they were traveling up another fairly steep incline when Caliya stumbled on a protruding rock. Ben caught her, just before she fell.

"You want to rest for a minute?" he asked. She nodded, lowering herself to the floor. Ben handed her the water. "Finish it," he told her. A few hours ago, she might have protested, but the struggle had drained her, body and spirit.

Ben looked up ahead of them, hoping that they would reach the surface soon. If they didn't, it would be a slow death. And Cal didn't deserve that. He might deserve it for some of the things he'd done, but his father couldn't lose him right now. It would kill him. The landspeeder would never come off Luke Skywalker's back again.

It was with these thoughts that Ben found the resolve to press on. Caliya seemed to have discovered some reservoir of strength, and kept pace with him. Though he couldn't see her face, Ben was pretty certain her thoughts were of Trevin.

They were silent, conserving their energy and the moisture still remaining in their throats. But then, Caliya saw something worth mentioning.

"Ben, is that light up there?"

He'd been so focused on putting one foot in front of the other he hadn't looked up in a while. When he did, he saw that Cal was right; a small beam of natural light was protruding through the rock up ahead. "Sure looks like it to me. Should we go check it out? I mean, we can hang out in these tunnels a little longer if you'd like to…"

_At least my sense of humor has made a triumphant return. _

"You know, I think I'd rather go 'hang out' somewhere else."

"I completely agree."

They climbed the few hundred more yards, their steps more energetic now that the end was in sight. The path leveled out, and they stood directly underneath the light. Caliya reached out her hand, and watched the sunlight dance across her fingers. Ben grinned; it was amazing how much darkness sapped your joy, and when the light returned, it was like being brought back to life.

"Let's get out of here," Ben said as he lifted his arms to push away the medium sized rock that blocked their exit.

It didn't budge a centimeter.

_I sure as heck am not going to die now, you stupid rock!_ Ben thought, using the Force to amplify his strength, muscles straining.

It moved a little this time. Caliya began pushing too, and together they were able to push the rock up and away from the opening. Cal giggled as he swung her onto his shoulders so she could crawl out. She turned back to give him a hand, but Ben had already used the Force to jump straight up and out of the tunnels.

"Show off," she commented, grinning and breathing in the fresh air.

"I think the term you're looking for is Jedi…but show off works too, I suppose."

She rolled her eyes, which had begun to sparkle now that death wasn't quite so imminent.

"We need to go find some water," Ben said, remembering that they weren't nearly out of the woods yet.

Wrong choice of words. Woods? There didn't seem to be one scrawny tree for miles. No wonder; the ground beneath them seemed to be three fourths clay.

A few miles to the left, they could see their captor's compound, the metallic exterior shining brightly in the sunshine.

"Where should we go?" Cal asked. "I obviously don't want to go back there," she pointed to the metal buildings. "But it would be better than dying of thirst out here."

Ben thought. "The clay isn't cracking from lack of moisture," he noticed, fingering the earth with his fingers. "So there has to be a water source somewhere, even if it's just underground. But it's far more likely there are small streams that are keeping the ground moist."

"So we head this way?" Caliya pointed to the right, away from their former prison.

"Yes. And if we don't find anything, we'll head back. I'm not going to let you die, I promise."

"Thank you." Cal's lips formed a smile. "For everything."

"You're welcome," Ben replied, taking her hand. Together, they began to walk, appreciating the glow that the sun gave their path.

They didn't discuss the scene in the cave. What was there to say? They had been dying, and Caliya had looked for comfort in the closest source. The only source. Ben didn't hold it against her, but he doubted there was anything more to it than that.

Attraction could be a dangerous thing, but that's all it was. And if it wasn't, they'd wait until their lives were a bit more certain to discuss it.

In the distance, Ben could just make out a small outcropping of rocks. "Let's head over there, might be water."

Cal nodded, and they began walking towards it. As they drew closer, they realized that it wasn't just rocks stacked in some haphazard way. It looked like someone had purposely stacked them to form a circle. They were long, tall rocks, and Ben marveled at how they were kept upright; it was amazing that the strong winds over the tundra didn't topple them over.

When they went inside the circle they stopped, too grateful to move for a few seconds. In the center of the ring of stones was a spring, clear water bubbling up from some underground well.

Ben and Caliya rushed forward, getting down on hands and knees and scooping handful after handful of cool water into their mouths. When his stomach couldn't take it any longer, Ben sat up. Caliya took a few more mouthfuls and did the same. Ben smiled; her hair had fallen into the spring and was now plastered against her face.

"I never thought water could taste so glorious," Caliya breathed.

"Me neither," Ben replied. He looked around; the rocks had been carved with some kind of writing on the inside surface. "I wonder where we are."

Caliya stood up and got a closer look. "It's some kind of writing, but I don't recognize the language."

Ben didn't ask her how many languages she would be able to recognize, knowing that this girl's past would probably forever remain a mystery. He joined her at the stone, examining the scrawled shapes.

"It's very ancient, that much I can tell. Very similar to the language of the Assali's. I spent some time studying it, since it's so similar to many ancient languages; let me see if I can translate any of this." Ben looked at the first word, using the Force just a little to discern the author's intent.

"I think this word is 'mist' or 'smoke.'"

"You think they're talking about that black stuff we saw on the way here?"

"That would be the most likely case, yes. The next word is along the lines of 'protect' or 'defend'."

"So the mist protects them?"

"That's what it sounds like…they go on to start praising the gods for the gift of the mist. That without it they would be 'visible'. That's the nearest translation I can think of anyway."

"What do they mean by visible? I wonder where this planet even is…"

"Well, we'll find out, but first we need to escape."

"And how are we going to do that?" Caliya asked.

"Just go back, sneak past the guards, and steal a transport."

"Easier said than done."

"I'm a Jedi though, remember?"

"How could I forget? So you just show them your official Jedi certification, and they'll let us through?"

Ben flashed her a sheepish look. "My official Jedi certification is kind of my lightsaber, and they took that."

"Great, I'm stuck on this planet with a Jedi who doesn't even have his lightsaber!" she teased.

"A lot less dashing, isn't it?"


	10. Chapter 9: The Address

**Wow, sorry for the long wait I gave y'all…I've been super busy with school and a few other writing projects. But next week is spring break, so hopefully I'll get caught up. Thanks for sticking with me through the ups and downs of my "real life". **

**And even though much time has passed, I still possess no ownership of the characters below…**

Chapter 9: The Address

When they were fairly certain that Senator Solfus wasn't around, Luke, Han and Leia returned to his office. The Twi'lek assistant was still there, typing quickly with her blue fingers. She looked up when they came in.

"You're back. What can I help you with?" she asked politely, but her tone had a small twinge of annoyance. Luke sensed that she was either behind on some project, or simply too busy to deal with such important people today.

"Is Senator Solfus in?" Leia asked, just to be certain.

"No, he's in a meeting right now. Can I give him a message?"

"Actually, we're here to speak with you."

She looked rather shocked. "Alright," she agreed.

"We're doing a survey of senators, to select one for a certain award. How do you feel about your boss?"

"He's a jerk."

"What?" Luke asked in surprise.

"I hate him. He yells at me all the time, but is the perfect gentleman whenever anyone important is around. I don't want him getting any awards. In fact, I'd be happy if he – oh never mind. Let's just say I'm not his biggest fan."

"That's good to know, thank you," Leia replied. "We just have one more question: do you know what the senator was doing during this week?" Leia held out her datapad.

"Let's see, that was the week he disappeared."

"And you don't know where he went?"

"Not at all. I was working on some projects, so I was here every day, but Senator Solfus never showed up. I remember thinking how strange it was, because he was involved in some very important negotiations at the time."

"What did he say when he came back?"

"Just that he'd had a family emergency. But I've know the man, unfortunately, for many years. He'd never mentioned any family before; his parents are dead, and he never contacts anyone else."

"You're sure? There isn't anybody back on Aargau? Maybe not a family member, but a close friend?"

"Well, he did used to always send packages to this apartment on Aargau. I don't remember the name, but they didn't share the same last name. I do have the address though." She typed in a few commands and wrote down the address on a piece of flimsi.

Luke took it from her. "Thank you very much for all your help," he said as they turned to go.

"You're welcome, and good luck with everything."

#

When Luke, Leia, and Han returned to the Solo's apartment, Jaina was lying on the sofa, sound asleep.

"Shhh, don't wake her," Leia admonished the boys. "She's probably just got back from a mission and wants to crash for a while."

"I'm fine mother," came Jaina's voice, muffled from behind a pillow.

She sat up, her hair a mess.

"How long are you back for?" Han asked his daughter.

"Well, I guess that would be a question for Uncle Luke," Jaina joked.

Luke smiled. "I have a mission for you whenever you're ready. Would you like to rest a bit first?" he asked, already anticipating her answer.

"Heck no! I've had my two hour nap. That should get me by for a few months."

"I thought you might feel that way," Luke replied. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" he asked the Solos.

"Is this some kind of Jedi mind reading exercise?" Leia asked. "Or just my sisterly intuition?"

"Either works…"

"Yes I do, we can hold things down back here. I'll explain to Han exactly what we're talking about in a minute, but I'm enjoying his confused expression."

Han glared. "You have your fun, but I'll get back at you someday."

"Someday…the day that never seems to come, no matter how many times you threaten me," Leia replied, laughing.

"Alright, Jaina, pack up. We're going to Aargau…"

Less than a standard day later, Luke and Jaina were in their StealthXs, about to enter lightspeed. The flight to Aargau would only take a few hours, and Jaina settled into her cockpit.

"Ready for some action, Rowdy?" she asked her red and white astromech droid.

_I do not possess the capacity to feel an emotion of readiness or dread._

"Well, in that case I guess we'll just roll with the punches," Jaina replied, appreciating Rowdy's dry sense of humor.

_Excuse me mistress, but who is getting punched?_

Ah, figures of speech. They didn't work on droids.

"Never mind. Set course for Aargau."

The two starfighters dropped out of hyperspace, and Jaina's view port filled with the sight of Aargau. It wasn't a large planet by galactic standards, but boasted of quite a large population. Though its cities hadn't overtaken the planet as they had Coruscant, they were spreading, and explained the dense citizenry.

The sphere from this distance looked like a fuzzy ball of green and grey swirls, but as they drew closer, the grey turned into durasteel buildings, and the green into various foliage.

"This is Jedi Grand Master Luke Skywalker, requesting landing authorization for myself and Jaina Solo," Luke said, and they both waited for a reply.

"This is air traffic control center 26, please proceed to docking bays 312 and 313. Thank you for visiting Aargau."

Jaina smiled a bit at the last part; usually when a Jedi, especially the Grand Master of the Order, came to your planet, it meant trouble. Jedi rarely took vacations, and definitely wouldn't go to a planet known for its obsession with material possessions.

They landed in the docking bays the traffic controller had indicated, and exited their fighters.

"Keep an eye on things R2," Luke told his astromech, and R2-D2 replied with an affirmative beep. Luke gave instructions with the manager that no one was to touch the starfighters, even for maintenance, and he and Jaina left the building.

"Why don't I head to the address we have, and you can go investigate Solfus' funds at the Bank of Aargau."

Jaina cringed inwardly, hoping Luke hadn't sensed her apprehension in the Force.

He had.

"Would you prefer to check out the address?"

"If that's what you want," Jaina replied, forcing her emotions to remain neutral. But she did hate banks. And rich people. And having to ask questions at banks about rich people.

"Yes, I suppose I would prefer that." Luke knew she'd never agree if she thought he was catering to her.

"Alright then. Should I meet you back here in four hours?"

"I'll see you then." Luke handed Jaina the piece of flimsi with the address scrawled on it. Jaina hailed an air taxi, Luke hailing another, and they went their separate ways.

"I'd like to go to this address," Jaina told the driver, showing him the flimsi.

"Are you sure about that missy? Dangerous part of town, Durgout Street is."

"I'm sure."

The driver took off, speeding through the city. There wasn't nearly as much traffic as Coruscant boasted, and most of the beings she'd caught a glace of were adorned in silk robes with intricate trim. The upper class of Aargau obviously lived a life of comfort and pleasure.

Jaina had a feeling that the part of town they were descending to, however, had a starkly different type of population. As they continued their journey, Jaina's thoughts were proven correct. The shiny durasteel gave way to rusty tin structures. They traveled several blocks, made two left turns, then the taxi set down in the middle of the street.

"Here we are," the driver informed her, pointing to a small house to their right.

"Thank you," Jaina replied, handing him a few credits.

"Will you be long? Want me to hang around?"

Jaina knew the exorbitant fee she'd be charged if he 'hung around'.

"Thanks, but I'm fine." She jumped out, and the air taxi sped back to the heart of the city, where he was more likely to find customers.

Jaina looked around, taking in her surroundings, reaching out with the Force. There was definitely some waves of hostility radiating from the address.

This could get interesting.

Hand on her lightsaber hilt, Jaina walked up to the door and knocked. The rap wasn't so loud as to arouse anger, but had enough force to show she wasn't going to go away. She heard shuffling sounds inside, and the lock being turned. Well, locks. Bad neighborhood and all, one could never be too careful.

The door swung open, revealing a black haired man who looked to be in his early thirties. He was unusually tall, and if his hair had been grown out, would have looked strikingly similar to Zekk.

"What do you want?" his gruff voice demanded.

"My name is Jaina Solo, and I just have a few questions for you."

The name usually caused a look of alarm, or at least recognition, but the man didn't even twitch. Maybe they never even heard of the Solo family down here.

"Sure, come in. I'm Zevid," he replied, suddenly compliant. A little too compliant. Jaina paid even more attention to her danger sense.

"What did you want to ask me?" Zevid moved towards the dresser, standing with his back leaning against the peeling wood.

"Do you know a man named Byron Solfus? He's the Galactic Senator for Aargau."

"Heard of him, yeah, but I don't know him personally."

"Are you sure? I have reliable information that says Senator Solfus has sent numerous packages to this address."

"How long ago was that? I've only just moved her three months ago."

_A story quite easily made up._

"Do you know the previous owner?" she asked, trying to see if his story was detailed enough to be truth.

"No, sorry but I didn't."

Jaina sighed.

"You're a Jedi, aren't you?" he asked, noticing her lightsaber.

Jaina nodded.

"That's funny…so am I!" Zevid reached behind him, igniting a crimson blade with speed that would have impressed Master Yoda. He lunched forward, using the element of surprise to go in for the kill.


	11. Chapter 10: Zevid

**A/N: I do love spring break…you can enjoy my spring break too, and the extra time it gives me! Ta da, it's another chapter in less than a week! **

Chapter 10: Zevid

Although Zevid knew Jaina was a Jedi, he wasn't aware of what she'd been through. Her duel with Caedus had prepared her for just about anything, and Jaina rolled across the floor before his lightsaber could pierce her chest.

"I'm just a different kind of Jedi," he continued, trying not to look peeved that his first attack had failed. But Jaina could feel his explosion of anger in the Force. It was clear he'd been trained in the dark arts.

"Yes, I noticed the red saber," Jaina replied, igniting her own purple blade.

"You have quite good reflexes," Zevid complemented, as she blocked another attack.

"Flattery will only get you six feet under," Jaina hissed. "Which is where you're going anyway."

"Oh my, we've resorted to insults, have we? Now, now Jedi Solo, I would expect better from you."

"You know nothing about me!" Jaina spat, tiring of Zevid's chatter. But she knew what he was trying to do; distract her with words, slow down her reactions by giving her something other than his weapon to think about.

She refused, going on the offensive. She needed to end this, and soon, before the battle became a public disturbance.

Then Jaina realized that killing Zevid wasn't an option, since he still might possess information concerning their investigation. That would make things harder. But she had to take him in alive, so she would.

Jaina couldn't even remember the last time she'd doubted herself in battle. It wasn't something the Sword of the Jedi should do.

No, she did remember. All too well. But she couldn't, not now.

Jaina attacked low, dropping her blade up high at the last possible nanosecond. Zevid stepped back, but her saber still singed his hair, and left a small patch of cauterized flesh on his ear.

Zevid howled in pain.

But two could play this game.

"So, are you a Sith Lord or something?" Jaina questioned, not slowing down her attack.

"Not quite that high up, no. But getting there. As you can see from my advanced dueling skills, I'm quite good."

Jaina didn't even begin to address his ego problems. "Who trained you?"

"A man who taught me not to give out too much information."

"That narrows things down."

But Jaina had a sinking feeling concerning who had taught him; the only Sith Lord who had been around at the time Zevid had been training.

Caedus.

And if he'd taught Zevid in secret, how many other rouge Dark Jedi were running around the galaxy?

It had been too good to be true thinking that after she'd killed Caedus he would be gone for good. No, people like that always left a legacy, a mess to pick up.

Jaina could feel Zevid tiring. While she sparred with fellow Jedi constantly, Zevid must have gone a long time without practice, hiding out here on Aargau. He remained strong, his strokes powerful, but the art of attack was missing in his strikes. Brute force could only get one so far.

Jaina quickened her slashes, trying to back Zevid into a corner. He retreated slowly, but before she could disarm him, Zevid ducked underneath her lightsaber and dashed for the door. He threw it open and left before Jaina could react.

But react she did, turning to follow Zevid. Jaina looked both ways down the street, then heard a scuffling noise from above her. She looked up to find Zevid climbing up the exterior of the building, lightsaber hanging deactivated from his waist.

Jaina sheathed her own sword and set off after him, using the Force to keep herself from falling down the almost completely smooth surface. She slowly caught up to Zevid, lungs gasping for air, muscles protesting.

He reached the top of the building and rolled over onto the roof; Jaina wasn't ten seconds behind, and when she tumbled on the roof, Zevid stood over her, saber ignited.

The killing strike never came though. Jaina rolled quickly, anticipating it.

"I am trying to lull you into a false sense of security," Zevid told her.

"Aren't battle strategies better left a secret from the enemy?" Jaina asked, bringing her purple blade back to life.

"Not if that revealed information accomplishes a purpose."

This Sith had a snarky reply for everything. Jaina would respect that if he hadn't been trying to decapitate her.

"The only purpose being accomplished today is your demise."

Jaina pushed Zevid to the edge of the roof, his feet slipping in the rock bed beneath them. An appropriately placed stone sent him careening on his backside.

Jaina took the opportunity to strike while he was off balance, slicing the hilt of his lightsaber in half. The blade deactivated, and Zevid just laid there, a stunned expression on his face.

"Very good, Miss Solo. Well played, and flawlessly executed."

"Shut up," Jaina replied, hating the fact that a Sith was complementing her skills. She was about to knock Zevid out with the hilt of her saber when he flashed her a knowing grin and stood up.

Alarmed, Jaina reactivated her lightsaber, but before she could attack, Zevid walked to the edge of the roof and jumped off the edge. She rushed forward, only to see a glimpse of him careening to the ground, arms extended as though wings were attached that would save him.

If Zevid had been an ordinary opponent, she would have watched as his body splattered on the pavement. But he knew how to use the Force, and therefore this jump would not kill him, probably barely injure him. Which meant it wouldn't kill her either.

Jaina took a breath, then followed, the wind pushing her long brown hair away from her face. The journey down took a lot less time than the trip up, and the ground was coming in fast. Jaina reached out in the Force, willing the air molecules to slow her descent. She landed lightly on the pavement beside Zevid.

"Nice try," Jaina said.

"Oh, but I didn't try. I succeeded."

Zevid turned to flee, Jaina closing in. But Zevid knew these streets much better than Jaina, and she soon lost him in the never ending twists and turns.

"Stang!" she cursed, looking around one more corner. Zevid was nowhere to be seen.

_Some Sword of the Jedi you are, can't even catch a wannabe Sith with an oversized ego._

#

Luke Skywalker entered the main office of the Bank of Aargau, and headed across the foyer to the large welcome center. It was busy today; beings of various races, but mostly human, wandered around. Many were dressed in the rich robes that indicated a person belonged to the upper class, but there were a few poorer citizens meandering around as well. It wasn't that the lower class was banned from places such as this, it was just that the poor were poor, and didn't possess enough money to bother having a bank account. And the Bank of Aargau catered to some of the richest citizens of the galaxy.

"How may I help you?" a female secretary asked Luke when he approached the desk. She had very red hair, which reminded him of Ben, and of why he was here.

"Yes, I'd like to speak with whoever handles Senator Solfus' accounts here."

"Let's see, I believe our president sees to the Senator's banking personally. We very highly respect our government leaders." She smiled, but Luke could sense that it was one she pasted on.

"Is he available right now?" Luke asked.

"He's currently in a meeting, but if you go up to floor 261, you can wait for him there. The meeting should finish up in about ten minutes, but you know how those things go, always running over."

"You should see my Jedi Council meetings," Luke replied.

"Oh, right, you're Luke Skywalker, aren't you? I guess I should have recognized you before, it's just that you're the last person I expected to be walking through that door!"

Luke laughed. "That's alright. Most people don't recognize me right away. Floor 261, you said?"

"Yep," the secretary replied.

"Thank you very much. You have a good afternoon." Luke turned towards the turbolifts.

"May the Force be with you," she called. Luke smiled, returning the phrase. He imagined the woman going home and telling all about how Luke Skywalker himself had told her to have a good afternoon.

It was both disturbing and a little complementary. But such was the life of a galactic celebrity.

_Is that really what we Jedi have become? Celebrities? The topic of holodramas?_ Luke thought as he rode the turbolift to the 261st floor.

Maybe it was true, but it was only because the galaxy didn't, as a whole, understand Jedi and what they did for them every day. To the average citizen, a Jedi knight was almost more a legend than a reality. Some far away hero that protected them from harm. Sometimes. Other times, the darkness won, and there was nothing Luke could do to stop it.

A ding from the turbolift brought Luke back to the present, and he walked into a hallway with thick maroon carpeting. His boots sunk almost two inches into the fabric.

There was a set of chairs clustered in the corner, so Luke took a seat to wait for the president of the bank. Ten minutes passed, and not surprisingly, another ten. Finally, after twenty five minutes, a door opened, and three people exited. The door shut again, and two minutes after that, a man in a dark blue suit approached Luke.

"Master Skywalker, I was told you were here. I'm Roland Vergeck, president of the Bank of Aargau."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Luke replied, shaking Roland's outstretched hand.

"Please, come into my office and we can talk."

Luke followed Roland inside, closing the door behind them.

"What brings you to Aargau? It's not very often we get a Jedi in these parts, especially the Grand Master of the whole order."

"I'm afraid it isn't pleasant business," Luke answered. "I am in the process of investigating Senator Byron Solfus. We suspect he may be participating in some shady financial dealings."

"That's a troubling accusation, we like to give our politicians the benefit of the doubt."

_Someone's never been to Coruscant_, Luke thought.

"This isn't an accusation, it's an investigation to see if an accusation is warranted."

"I see. What can I do to help and hopefully disprove your suspicions?"

"I'd like to go through all of Senator Solfus' business and personal transactions, as we have found some unexplainable fund transactions."

"Of course, let me pull up his accounts."

Vergeck turned the screen so that Luke could see the column of numbers. Luke scanned for the dates Solfus had mysteriously disappeared.

"See, right there. Three thousand credits withdrawn from his business account, and five thousand added to his personal account on the same day."

Vergeck looked, confirming the data. "It appears you're right. Although this doesn't prove anything, I agree that it looks suspicious."

"Does Solfus' business account fund the charity he's running on Coruscant?"

"I believe so, let me confirm." Vergeck tapped a few keys. "Yes, his business account funds the charity and various senatorial expenses such as transportation and the like."

"We have reason to believe that Solfus' charity may just be a hoax, a front to acquire funds. And this appears to be confirmed by the money moved from his business to personal accounts. The only thing I don't understand is why this is the sole time it's happened like this. You'd think he'd be more careful than to directly transfer them on the same day."

"Maybe he had an emergency of some sort that required he have extra money right away."

Luke wondered how Jaina was coming with the mysterious address. "That would explain why the funds were withdrawn from his personal account later that week. He must have needed them for something important. Does the bank keep track of where all credits come from, or only where they go?"

"Only where they go I'm afraid. It's a privacy policy."

"I see. Well, thank you for your help, President Vergeck."

"Of course Master Skywalker. Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any other questions."

"I won't, thanks."

Luke exited Vergeck's office and went back downstairs. When he'd reached the street, he opened a comlink channel to Jaina. "I'm finished at the bank now, heading back to the landing bay."

Jaina's reply came interrupted by static, as though she was breathing hard. "I'm on my way there too."

"You alright? You sound a bit out of breath."

"Oh, you know, just been chasing a Sith around town. I'll explain it all when I get there."


	12. Chapter 11: Love and Loss

**A/N: Hello everyone! Enjoy Chapter 11…**

**And I have nothing witty to say…**

Chapter 11: Love and Loss

Ben and Caliya began walking back to the compound. The silence was a little awkward.

"So where are you from?" Ben asked.

Cal was silent for a moment, probably remembering Trevin. "Votar. It's a planet near Hapes, but not part of the Consortium."

"That's interesting."

"Our parents died when I was ten. Trevin took care of me. He was quite a few years older than me, so he got a job and supported us. Eventually, I got one too. Things started going really well. We had each other, so we were never alone. With both of us working, there was a few extra credits for the first time in years. We were on our way to a well-deserved night out when they took us."

She took a shuddered breath. "How about you, Ben? What's your story?"

It was only fair that since she'd opened up, he did too. But he didn't like talking about himself, didn't want to remember the past. But maybe it would be good for him.

"I was born during the Vong war. I never really had a home other than the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. My life got turned upside down during the Second Galactic Civil War. My cousin, Jacen, turned to the dark side."

Ben paused, and Caliya didn't speak, waiting for him to be ready. He concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other until the severity of the emotions lessened a bit.

"He became a monster; the man who was my hero turned into a murderer. And not just any murder. He killed my mother."

Caliya sucked her breath in, shocked. She wasn't quite sure what to say. Her mother had died, her father too, but at least her cousin hadn't murdered them. "I'm so sorry, Ben. I know you've probably heard that a lot, but I mean it."

Ben looked across at her. "I might have heard it a lot, but it still means something coming from people I know actually care."

"That must have been so hard. What happened to him? Jacen, I mean."

"He was killed towards the end of the war. By his twin, my cousin Jaina."

Caliya's eyes widened in shock, and she really didn't know what to say. Ben decided a little humor was needed in this conversation; there was no need to depress Caliya with his pain.

"Yeah, our family is a bit dysfunctional."

"That's just so heartbreaking; I can't even imagine what you guys went through."

"Pain touches everyone, Cal. We can't pick and choose it. You lost both your parents at such a young age, at least I still have my dad."

"You're right, we're all given different lots, different agonies to bear." They were silent for a moment, both needing a bit of time to move past the dredged up memories.

"Hey, but if you ever need to talk about it…about anything, I'm here, alright?"

"Thanks. Same goes for you, you know."

Ben smiled. He found it mildly humorous how fast Caliya had transitioned from his enemy to a friend. A good friend. A friend who was a pretty good kisser, but he wasn't going to go there now.

Ben and Caliya had been walking for over an hour, and finally were coming up to the durasteel compound.

"Where do we go in without being seen?" Cal asked.

"I was kind of hoping that once we got closer a plan would present itself."

"Seriously? You walked all the way here without forming a plan? What were you thinking about?"

Ben didn't mention that he'd been thinking about how beautiful Cal's hair looked when the sunlight shone on it, or how she always seemed to carry herself with an inspiring air of confidence.

"Look, let's just explore the perimeter and go from there, okay?"

Caliya nodded. "I wonder why there aren't any guards out here?" she wondered out loud.

"Probably just don't need them; they want to keep people in. Nobody lives out here, so there's no need for a defense team."

"True. And I guess it's good for us that no one is out here to recapture us."

Ben walked up to one of the doors, peering in through the small window. Inside was what looked to be a lab of some kind. Various beakers with different colored substances sat on a table, surrounded by microscopes and other equipment.

Ben's eyes scanned the whole room, and he found that it was occupied by a man wearing a white lab jacket. He ducked, afraid the man would spot him.

"What is it? Are there guards in there?"

"No, just a lab guy."

Caliya poked her head up, catching a glance of the man. "He doesn't look like one of them…and we can't get into the other rooms because no one's there to let us in. Maybe we should just go for it, trust him. He's probably a prisoner too."

Ben considered their options. Unfortunately, Cal was right. They didn't really have many.

"Alright," Ben agreed, and he tapped on the door. The man didn't move.

"He must not have heard you," Caliya said. "Try knocking harder."

Ben rapped on the metal, and the man jumped, turning towards them. He rushed towards the door, waving excitedly.

Ben and Caliya smiled, waiting for him to let them inside.

But he didn't. Instead, the man just stood there, beckoning them in.

Ben flashed him a confused expression, trying to use hand motions to ask him to open the door. But he didn't, just pointed at them.

"I think he wants us to open the door," Caliya observed. She reached out for the handle, and twisted her wrist to turn it.

The handle turned, the door opening.

It hadn't even been locked.

"Come in, come in," the man welcomed. "I don't know who you are, but am I ever glad to see you!"

"I'm Ben," Ben introduced himself. "And this is Caliya."

"Beautiful names, to be sure. I am Arlen, Arlen Plebish."

Ben grinned; Arlen's quirky personality was amusing. "It's nice to meet you, Arlen. Now, we should get down to business."

"Ah, yes, business! To be sure. Now, first you two kids must explain where you have come from. No one has ever been outside the compound before."

"We were captured last week, and were working mining the glitterstim when there was a collapse in the tunnel."

Arlen's eyes widened.

"We were able to blast our way up to one of the energy spider's tunnels, and climb to the surface."

"No small feat, to be sure," Arlen told them, impressed. "It's truly a miracle that you survived."

They nodded in agreement. "Who are you, then?" Ben asked.

"Well," Arlen began, "I am a scientist. Chemical engineer, actually. I've been working for a very famous chemical plant synthesizing different substances when I was captured on a family vacation. I've been here for going on four months now."

"What do they need a chemical engineer for? Glitterstim mining isn't that complicated of a procedure, is it?"

"No, I'm not here for the glitterstim. In fact, you might even consider the spice mining a side operation."

"Side operation to what?" Caliya questioned.

"To the mist."

"You mean that black cloud that surrounds the planet?" Ben asked. "We saw that on our way down."

"Yes, the mist serves as a cloaking device for the planet. No mechanical instrument can detect what lies beneath it, and nothing becomes visible until you're underneath its layers."

"Seriously?" Ben asked, astonished that such a substance existed.

"To be sure," Arlen confirmed. "I was brought in as one of many technicians who are working on analyzing what substances the mist contains, in order to replicate it."

"Who are these people anyway? Why would they want to replicate it?"

"Can you imagine the ramifications if this mist could be sold over the black market? Smugglers could carry it and release it into space when being chased. Whole planets could just disappear, never to be discovered. Unless one is aware of the exact coordinates, anything the mist covers could lay hidden for millennia if it so wished."

"So that's what they want to do, sell it on the black market. They'd make a fortune!"

"To be sure."

"Have you been able to synthesize the mist yet?" Caliya asked.

"Not as of yet, no. But we're coming quite close. Only two more compounds must be identified."

"So you could have this working within the month? The week?"

"Quite possibly, yes. Then, I doubt the galaxy will ever be the same."

"But how can you do this?" Ben demanded, suddenly a bit upset at Arlen. "If you know what harm it will cause to others?"

Arlen's eyes darkened, and he didn't reply for several seconds. "They have my wife, working in the mines. They don't let me see her, and say that if I don't work hard enough, they'll kill her."

Ben instantly regretted his harsh tone. "I'm sorry, Arlen. I didn't know."

"It's alright, son. Believe me, if it was only my own life at stake, I wouldn't hesitate to refuse, but my sweet Katy…"

Ben put his hand on the man's shoulder, trying to be of some comfort. The way Arlen had called him son made him think of his father. Luke must be going crazy by now.

"Alright, we need a plan." Caliya said, trying to change the subject from the frightening things occurring.

"A plan for what?" Arlen asked, casually wiping the single tear he had shed from his cheek.

"To get out of here, of course!" she exclaimed. "We can't let them win!"

Ben grinned at her enthusiasm for escape. "She's right. We need to combine all the information we all have and formulate a plan that will get us all out of here."

"Everyone? How can we do that?"

"Well, if I can somehow steal a transport, I can contact my father. If I have the exact coordinates, he can find it through the mist, and we'll be able to rescue everyone."

"Your father must be a powerful man."

"My father is Luke Skywalker," Ben replied, quite grateful for his Jedi heritage in that moment.

"You're Ben Skywalker?" Arlen asked, disbelief written on his slightly wrinkled face.

"I am. And I'm a Jedi. That's the same as saying that no one's getting left behind."


End file.
